


love is what makes the magic works

by lourryalrighteeARCHIVE (orphan_account)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Blood Play, Bonding, Bottom Louis, Eventual Smut, Fate & Destiny, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gryffindor Louis, Hogwarts, M/M, OT5 Friendship, Slytherin Harry, Soul Bond, Soulmates, Top Harry, Vampire Harry, Vampire Louis, Wizard Harry, Wizard Louis, instant chemistry, louis has to kill harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2015-10-01
Packaged: 2018-04-23 23:02:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 39,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4895653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/lourryalrighteeARCHIVE
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>louis and harry are soulmates, yes, they are. but they're not supposed to be in love, in fact, far from it. in stead, they're supposed to be mortal enemies.</p><p> </p><p>or; the one where Gryffindor Louis Tomlinson is on a family mission to assassinate a certain vampire, whom is the heir of the man who killed his ancestor. however, he fell in love with Slytherin Harry Styles, who is the vampire he should be killing, before knowing it. </p><p>love is what makes the magic works, eventually.</p>
            </blockquote>





	love is what makes the magic works

**Author's Note:**

  * For [larryhowlter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/larryhowlter/gifts).



> _Hi, this work belonged to lourryalrightee, but was orphaned for personal reasons. Thank you._
> 
>  
> 
> I SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I AM UP TO NO GOOD
> 
>  
> 
> (i've changed the summary for countless of times but have never got one that feels good to me i swear to merlin)

_⊱•⊰_

_i._

_my friend, the wise seer is right_

_everything opens at the close_

_following the dark lord’s death,_

_a new empire rose_

_the crowd fears the dark,_

_fears the chaos, they desire order_

_every race pushes out their kings_

_they battled, in hope for a new power_

_wizard William is put to the throne_

_defeating the king of the vampires_

_he was immediately swarmed by welcomes of his men_

_little do they know, he tricked his way for this empire_

_vampires are the race_

_that lives long and die hard_

_King William cheats in the battle_

_and nicks this magical dark art_

_⊱•⊰_

 

louis has always wanted to be a warrior.

 

well, not a _warrior_ , but he has always wanted to be brave, to succeed, to glow. he doesn’t really want to be those what you call super star. instead, he’d rather stay humble, stay at the back, and try his best in his job. louis isn’t one to seek attention, but he always, _always_ wants to be good to bring back glory for his family name, so a praise or two wouldn’t hurt much, too.

 

louis doesn’t know how is this supposed to work, life and careers and future paths and all those shits. as you may see, he’s just a humble student, a student in his mere fifth year going on his sixth, with an average academic result. yet he is close to choosing his own destiny, deciding where he would go after graduating — it just makes no sense to him.

 

everything is crumbling down to him and sometimes, louis really _really_ want to close his eyes  and just fall over, forgetting said everything altogether. it is good to be a free bird once in a while right, flinging off every bit of responsibility and expectations. of course, this would never work because there is actually a thing called life going on.

 

but you’ve got to stay positive, so wherever his fate takes him, he’ll be there and pray to Merlin that _hopefully_ everything will turn out alright. because as they say, if it’s not okay it’s not the end.

 

and now he thinks, maybe life has finally made a right choice for him — since the moment he was sorted in _Gryffindor_ , his family has been so pleased about it.

 

maybe he could somehow shine and be a glory.

 

(actually louis wouldn’t mind what house he's sorted into — it is a new era now. Hogwarts has never been so crowded since ages ago when their headmaster Professor Al Potter, and his husband Professor Malfoy decided to let everyone, _literally_ everyone including werewolves and such to apply for the school, as long as they prove themselves to be able to behold magic.)

 

(it doesn’t really matter for the houses, everyone are friends and treats each others as equals. but when louis read from _hogwarts: a history (new edition)_ that the “bravest, boldest went to daring Gryffindor”, he took pride in himself.)

 

(well, just a little bit.)

 

what is a Gryffindor supposed to do? well, louis might never know. all he knows at this very moment is that his finals is coming up, and he’s very positive that he is going to fail it.

 

louis walks into the Hog's Head, a club in Hogsmeade, which is frequently visited by fellow members among the community. students can now leave the school campus whenever they want, but only to Hogsmeade and only to be back before curfew. so, the Hog's Head naturally became students' favourite chillout spot, though this is half because of it being an important part in the famous adventure of harry Potter and his fellas.

 

the Hog's Head is usually deserted around exam weeks, louis discovered, because everyone is suddenly being much more productive for their finals. their usual spot is the library in school campus, making the library very crowded around this time. and louis, being louis, just has to go against the trend and escape to the nearest village off school.

 

he is cramping all his textbooks of all of his subjects into his arms when he walks through the wooden door of the bar, creating a nasty squeaking noise. louis cringes to himself and jumps up just in time to prevent stumbling over a goblin and her toad. after he had hurried to mumble an apology to the duo, he rushes off to find an empty seat among the tables.

 

louis turns to the clock on the wall in the bar, slightly frowning. niall, a student in Ravenclaw, who also happens to be his best friend, has promised to join louis at six. it's already six fifteen and niall is still not there. _"must be snogging his head off with that Hufflepuff prefect again,"_ louis mentally cursed at his irish friend.

 

so he settles down on a seat and picks up his notebook, immediately flipping to where notes on his Defence Against Dark Arts class are scattered across the page. he pulls out his wand from his robe pocket and places it under the table, murmuring spells to himself and trying to coordinate the hand movements.

 

he's not worried about his theory papers, as he turns out to be quite a good memorizer and whatever lines are on the textbook, he can remember them accurately. what he fears, and what brings him down nearly every exam, is the practical work. he always can't seem to be able to bring himself to do them correctly at the exams, always using up all his attempts and failing each one. his spells are correct, his wand gestures are okay, yet most of the time the magic just don't happen. he only pass those finals because his professor has been so good that she takes his succeeded attempts in the lessons into account, and because he gets way better results in his written papers.

 

talking about revision, louis grunts at niall again for his magical disappearance as a study buddy. louis _depends_ on niall for his top place in the year for practical exams, _merlin's beard_ , and yet again this so-called best friend has gone off to play with his boy toy.

 

louis is furrowing his brows at a messy notes on his borrowed-notebook from niall ( _ree-duct-to?_ no certainly not. _re-duct-TU?_ cringe not really. maybe a _re-DUCT-toh?_ oh and is that an upward flick? or a curl at the end?) when he hears a voice opposite from him. he is so focused that he doesn't even acknowledge another person coming in.

 

"hold on, it's not done like that."

 

louis is startled, _almost_ dropping his wand because of a mini-heart-attack. but then he realizes the someone who suddenly speaks to him might have just sat down across him when he's not paying attention. so the boy slowly brings his head up.

 

what he sees is certainly not what he expects, the deep voice he just heard leads to an equally luring handsome face. what first etched in louis' mind is jaded, almost dark green eyes, then it's the long, shoulder-length curls, last is the dimple that is dinting at the boy's left cheek when he is offering a half smile to louis.

 

louis then quickly notices the intruder is wearing a robe very similar to his own, making the only difference at a green tie and a green badge, rather than the yellowish one louis is having on his uniform. he immediately recognize the boy as one of his fellow Slytherin student at Hogwarts, though he never recalls seeing him around.

 

"what's not done like what?" louis cocks his head to a side as he asks his supposed-schoolmate in confusion.

 

"the spell you're trying at. you — you're doing _reducto_ right? the wand movement is not done like that."

 

"oh. i see, thank you." louis can't help the warmth that is seeping from the base of his neck to his face, but he blames it solely on the embarrassment. "then how is it done?"

 

"well," the boy opposite from him speaks, proceeding to pull out his own wand from his pockets, "first the wand should be gestured like this, zigzagging — like you're drawing the symbol of 'more than' in mathematics."

 

"alright." louis puts his own wand in the air, mimicking the other boy's actions. after a few rounds when he has got familiar with it, he makes a mental note to himself to put it into his notes as well as in his long term memories.

 

the Slytherin boy slips his wand back into his pockets after he saw louis has picked up on the tricks.

 

"thank you so much, mate, without you i'd never be able to figure it out on my own." louis beams at the curly-haired boy gratefully.

 

the said boy just smiles and speaks nothing else. louis turns to the long-forgotten butterbeer on the table and takes a sip from the glass, looking out at the window when he senses he's being discretely stared at.

 

"a-are you a Slytherin? which year?" louis curiously eyes the mysterious boy and asks, remembering that he had actually never really seen him around campus. fifth to seventh years have lessons in the same tower, and he must be at least above fifth year for that face and body. plus louis admits he is fairly good at making friends, but he can't recall such a face.

 

"going on my sixth year. i'm a new student though, only sorted into Slytherin for barely a month." the boy replies, chuckling to himself a bit, before holding out a (significantly larger) hand for louis to take, " _i'm harry._ "

 

" _louis_." louis takes harry's hand and shakes it, feeling as it grasps around his and engulfing his, "you're a transfer and you're already in campus?"

 

"yeah," harry gives a nod, "although we're technically not official students yet, the school just let us in earlier for us catch up on the lesson pace."

 

"ah. no wonder i haven't seen you before much." louis hums in understanding. "though even if you're in the same class with me, i might not notice anyways. the past month has been hectic, y'know, finals and all those shits."

 

"oh, I heard that they are pretty tough here, innit?"

 

"well not really, it depends on what you're good at. like me, i'm good at theory, but i'm not that good at carrying the spells out. it has been like this since i first started out in the school." louis explains, his voice carrying the hint of a sigh, "sometimes i'm able to do the spells perfectly at practice, but at the exam i just fuck it all up. however my friend, niall, is a complete opposite of me."

 

"must be the nerves, mate." the Slytherin pauses, "well, aren't you a Gryffindor?"

 

"yes, i am. but let's not stereotype harold, the houses not the same as they were years ago."

 

"oh right, cool." harry mumbles then looks up, a corner of his lips tugs up to an apologetic smile. louis finds himself smiling back kindly too.

 

then he is suddenly standing up, bringing the glass of butterbeer to his lips and drains it. he walks around the table to the side where louis is sitting at and holds out his hand. louis freezes and looks at the hand, looks up at harry, and looks at the hand again.

 

"come on, louis. revising for practical exams cannot go without practicing, let's go somewhere where we could actually crush things with reducto." harry looks down at louis, his curls loosely dangling over his face. louis has an urge to push it back for him, to reveal the beautiful face.

 

so he places his hand on top of harry's palm, like what a queen would do, and allows harry to pull him up from his seat. _(no i should not be following strangers. but this harry person is not technically a stranger we're in the same school same year)_ "fine," he says, acting nonchalantly, but it's not helping the light blush that is creeping up his cheeks. louis has no idea why is his face heating up like mad, because what, it's just a cute boy helping out with schoolwork, and it goes so fast like a fairy tale. nevertheless, they pack their things, pays at the counter and leaves the shop. louis trailing behind harry, wondering where on earth would the boy take him since he didn't say a thing.

 

their hands are still clasped together as they walk out. louis feels his hand is getting sweaty because of the giddiness in his stomach, so he uses fixing his robe as an excuse to pull it back.

 

harry says nothing, just staring straight ahead and stays with louis side by side. the walk is quiet, no one utters a word. louis' brain is bombarding him with millions of arrows and hearts, he brushes them off and tries to maintain his posture. he peers over to harry and wonders if he is thinking the same thing, but the Slytherin seems calm and collected.

 

louis only questions when he realizes harry is in fact leading him back to campus.

 

"harry? um...isn't this the way back to Hogwarts?"

 

"yes, hun. I haven't been around long enough to know places, but i figure there's nine other better places to practice than at school, 'cause it shouldn't be too noisy when everyone else is in the library and we could have everything we require."

 

louis merely nods as they enter the school gate. they greet the teachers, and some people who know them. they made small takes as they trudes over the towers, louis still not having a clue where harry is taking him. he laughs along to the silly jokes harry is making, until he is teased by harry about his weight.

 

"don't tell me otherwise, lou, you're certainly too short for a fifth year. i'm starting to think people will look at us funny because we managed to get together."

 

"shut up, i’m in fact 5’9." louis tries to elbow harry in the chest, but his elbow can only go around the taller boy's waist, which harry easily ducks away with a chortle.

 

"then i'd be taller than hagrid and — " harry drags the last syllable and pauses in front of two wooden doors. "here we are."

 

louis turns around and sees that they've actually passed the library floor and gone straight up to the door leading to the entrance of the astronomy tower. "b-but harry," he sputters, "isn't this the _astronomy tower?_ "

 

"why, yes, it is." harry peeks at louis from the side, "i was taken here when the headmaster gave us a tour around campus. and i discover that it is really quiet here, perfect for concentrating on my spells."

 

"aren't we not allowed here though?" louis bites at his lips and looks around the corridor that is only lit by dim fires on the walls, almost timidly.

 

"well, i always come here by myself, and so far nothing has happened." harry places his hands on the door handle where it is supposed to be locked, he stares at it for a while then turns to the wide-eyed boy on his right, a smirk etched in his features, "i have my ways."

 

louis rolls his eyes, "alright, mr. smart ass, lead the way."

 

harry's smirk turns into a full-blown grin as he pretends to tip off his imagery hat to louis. louis laughs and slaps his palm on harry's bicep playfully. the Slytherin boy pokes out his tongue in an (again-pretended)-apologetic way, then pushes at the wooden door, revealing the insides of the astronomy tower.

 

once they entered the room, louis gasps softly as he stares in awe, looking up at the slowly spirally staircase that leads to the top roof of the tower. he spins around, lips still slightly apart, marvelling over the way the moonlight sneaks in, lighting up the dark area that louis could even see the starry dust dancing in the soft light rays.

 

"i haven't been in here for ages, harry," louis can't fight the fond grin off his face, he skips to the staircase, thumbing at the handle made of fine wood, "that i forgot how beautiful it is here at night."

 

"well," harry struts towards the stairs as well, with an equal fond smile on his face, but not quite directing at his surroundings, "it's peaceful here, innit?—let's go upstairs now, we've got business to do."

 

louis immediately follows the taller boy up the stairs, looking up and through the windows. the astronomy tower is the tallest tower in campus, and from what louis has heard before, a lot of famous adventures of past _warriors_ took place here too. the top level of the tower is decorated with countless figures of planets in the distant universe, and of course something closer such as the solar system. not being on here for about two years, louis almost forgets the mind-blowing sight out the large window.

 

although it is night, hogsmeade is still lighting up like twinkling stars.

 

while louis is busy ogling at the sight before him, harry is looking around for materials that is useful to cast a spell on.

 

"ah! found it!"

 

louis whips around, a bit startled by someone else's voice since he's in too deep with his thoughts about back in the days when he tries to spot Sirius through the telescope lens. he relaxes when he realizes it's just harry.

 

"found what?" he questions, walking towards his new friend who has a chappy wooden stools in his hands.

 

"this one. should be perfect for a reducto spell." harry proceeds to place the stool in the centre of the empty space, he takes out his phone to check the time afterwards, "we should hurry, 'cause dinner is starting in an hour or so, and i don't wanna miss that."

 

louis nods in agreement, quickly retrieving his wand from his pockets.

 

"wait." harry stops louis when he is about to raise his wand. he points his own wand to the chair and casts a quick reducto on it. the chair explodes and its remaining shatters across the floor.

 

harry smiles in satisfaction. "yes, tested to be workable on this stool. go on." he says to louis.

 

without thinking, louis points his wand to the chair and whispers, " _reparo_." the chair repairs and returns to its original state in no time. he then takes a step back and breathes in shakily. reducto should be an easy spell, but for louis, he can barely handle it.

 

before he raises his wand again, harry speaks softly beside him.

 

"you should be okay, mate. i see the way you cast the reparo and it's in fact perfect! i think a little bit more determination and focus is what you really need, not the skills."

 

louis hums along to harry's advices, though he's feeling slightly skeptical towards it and also towards himself. he knew his spells lack power, or the sparkle. he's been too careful with himself. nevertheless, he closes his eyes then reopens them, swallowing thickly before he pours out the distinct syllables of "reducto", together with the movements of his wand.

 

the stool didn't budge, sitting there like a lemon.

 

louis sighs through his nose and deflates a bit. he tries raising his wand again and aims at the stool, yet hesitates before he could cast the speed for the second time. it feels like he would never be able to cast a perfect spell fully on his own his brain has always been messing things up since year 1.

 

louis allows his tense shoulders relax momentarily when he feels a presence slipping behind him.

 

harry places one of his arms around louis' small and slim waist to steady the boy, and another hand over louis' one which is holding the wand. since harry's bigger, it seems that his body is covering up all of louis.

 

"come on, love, you can do this," harry is using that soft voice again, whispering into the shell of louis' ear, as if he speaks any louder it could break the quiet bubble wrapping around them, "give your wand movement a bit confidence and strength, there is nothing wrong with it, just do it a bit firmer."

 

he says, maneuvering louis' hand with his own.

 

"reducto." louis casts, louder than before.

 

the stool rumbles on the ground like there is an earthquake underneath. some chips of wood is falling off, but the chair sits back at where it was at last.

 

"see? it is already progress." harry encourages on. louis smiles a little back at harry as he heart flutters at the slightest change in the stool. harry is right, it really requires some more determination.

 

harry slowly lets his palm slides away from louis', but keeps his arm loosely hanging around the boy's waist. louis raises his wand, staring at the stool like he could punch it to broken pieces, he closes his eyes, and doesn't open them this time.

 

he could hear his own breathing, feel the thumping of his heart against his veins, the magic slipping off his fingertips to the wand, and the ghost hover of the Slytherin boy's warmth a giant his back.

 

_"reducto."_

 

he doesn't dare to open his eyes until he could hear the unmistakeable sound of something exploding and breaking on the floor. when. he finally looks up, the stool has been turned into heating black ashes, the shape of a chair nowhere to be seen. and it was all because of _his_ spell.

 

louis' jaws drops at the mess in front of him, happiness bubbling up from his chest, urging on to be released. he whips around, wand still being hold in his tight and sweaty grasp, and collides himself on the firm chest behind him.

 

harry only stayed surprised for a moment, before he is hugging louis back with all his might.

 

"i did it, harry. it was actually the first time i've ever been able to cast a full reducto — oh, merlin."

 

harry chuckles into the moonlight and pries louis' dainty body off his chest, only to beam at his friend properly and to fix his robe. "well i'm a good teacher, aren't i?"

 

louis snorts but admits anyways, "that you are."

 

he thumbs at the green badge sewn on harry's robe for a moment. "we should keep practicing, I think there should be at least half an hour before dinner."

 

he walks away from the Slytherin, mumbling to himself, "and to think that there is still tons of spells that i don't know what the hell is going on with."

 

harry creeps up behind louis again, his voice shy and suggesting, "uh...you can — i mean — i could always help you if you want?"

 

louis whips around so quick that harry thinks his body might break, which brings a grimace to his face. the shorter of the two exclaims, his eyes growing wide, "you would? seriously, harry, you would help me with it?"

 

harry, who seems to be calm and collected, goes from a bold face to a slightly embarrassed one as he scratches at the back of his neck, "of course, i have a lot of free times anyways plus i don't have any exams yet. so it's okay."

 

louis hums in understanding. then he turns to the other boy again, "oh by the way, what subjects did you take, harry?"

 

"transfiguration, charms, and defence against the dark arts." harry simply states.

 

"really? what a coincidence." louis' eyes light up even further, "then we're gonna have two classes together, 'cause i also take DADA and charms. but unlike you i actually put in herbology as my third subject."

  
  
"suits you." harry comments softly, then shrugs, "well, i basically followed zain's footsteps in my subject choices, though he's not as into defence against the dark arts as me."

  
"zain?"

  
  
louis sees harry's face grow fond at the mention of the name. "zain's my brother — well, technically not brothers since my mom married zain's dad when i was three — he was in Slytherin too, just like me, though he graduated two years ago." he explains.

  
  
"oh, i see." louis lets out a breath of relief that he doesn't know he's holding in. he wonders who this "zain" person might look like, since he's never heard of his name in the school.

  
  
"let's try again, shall we?" harry speaks, after a beat of silence, gesturing a hand towards the mess of ashes on the ground.

  
  
"absolutely." louis replies. he then goes on and casts a reparo to transform the stool back into its good shape.

  
  
and the remaining half an hour is consists of solely firm, growing confident casts of reducto by louis, followed by many murmurs of reparo from the boy standing beside him.

  
  
at about 10 minutes away to dinner, louis' phone suddenly buzzes in his pockets. he signals to the Slytherin boy to pause the practice, then pulls out his phone to check whoever is wanting him.

  
  
turns out it's a text from niall.

  
  
_where are you? the dinner is about to start !!_

  
louis huffs loudly at the message, typing out a message back to his irish friend.

  
  
_it should be /me/ to ask you this question. i thought you could do better than keeping a promise. i'm now at the astronomy tower._

  
  
when louis looks up, harry is raising an amused eyebrow at him. louis rolls his eyes and answers the unasked question, "niall is questioning our whereabouts, when he's the one who never shows up at the bar. really now?"

  
  
harry lets out a chuckle at the sentence, pointing a thumb at the direction of the staircase, "so we only have 10 minutes left anyways, maybe we should start heading back?"

  
  
"yeah, we probably should. let's just put back the stool and we can go." louis agrees.

  
  
he then checks his phone again as it buzzes, signalling another text message.

  
  
_oh god i'm so sorry lou !! i got caught up in things and i forgot about it._

  
  
_so sorry._

  
  
_wait, did you just say you're in the astronomy tower? what the hell are you doing there??_

  
  
louis simply types out a _"come meet us then dickhead, i'll tell you later"_ while harry is placing the stool back and a few other bigger things they had practiced on.

  
  
they descend side by side down the spiral staircase, their sides slightly brushing against each other's, and louis would blush when he feels their fingers touching. it's funny and almost ridiculous, how he feels such a race in the heart even if he's only met harry for barely a day. he peeks up at the Slytherin transfer, noticing how his lips are full and the way his eyes twinkle under the dim moonlight, like emeralds in the sky.

  
  
when they finally reach the bottom of the stairs, louis strikes up his courage. he turns to face harry, stopping the boy from pushing open the doors. he unlocks his phone which is still clutched in his hands and goes to the contacts page, handing it to the slightly confused boy in front of him.

  
  
"put your numbers in," he starts abruptly, "...so i could use your help when my spell casting skills suck ass."

  
  
 _bet it's not the only thing that would suck ass,_ he adds bravely in his mind.

  
  
harry just smiles and takes the phone from him. louis watches as he types his number in.

 

"i always forgot how beautiful this place could be. thanks for bringing me here."

  
  
"y'know, we could totally use this place in the future." harry says, sending a subtle wink.

  
  
louis senses another blush slipping up, and before he allows it to make it fully to his face, he retrieves his phone and pockets it, pushing open the wooden doors.

 

harry follows him out. they turn around a corner, reaching the corridors that leads to the entrance hall. the hall is swarmed by students marching to the their dinner site. louis smiles when he sees the head of a certain blonde among the sea of students, standing alone by the columns. he pulls harry along to the said boy.

  
  
"hey niall," louis greets niall with a wave when the Ravenclaw sees him, then peeks around the place, "where's your boy toy?"

  
  
"quit teasing tommo. he's not my boy toy, we're still trying," niall grunts, exasperated. "and he is currently on patrol."

 

"oh i see." louis fakes a dramatic realization face, dragging out his last syllable, "so you're taking advantage of the time before his patrol and completely forgetting me?"

 

"u-uh — " niall turns beet red at that, probably from the memory of what he did with his boyfriend, " _hey_! i already said i'm sorry!"

 

"fine." louis rolls his eyes, not at all convinced.

 

niall ignores the daggers that are being thrown to him by his best friend, his gaze falling on the stranger, who is standing quite awkwardly next to louis. he shamelessly racks his eyes up and down the Slytherin boy, lingering at his eyes and apparently smoking hot demeanour, and the height difference striking an interest in him.

 

"and who might this be?" niall gives a pointed look at louis, wiggling his eyebrows and a smirk coming up from his face.

 

louis looks up to the right of him at harry, placing an elbow on his shoulder, "this is harry, a new transfer student in Slytherin. he's just helped me with the reducto spell i've been working on for months."

 

harry nods at niall and sticks out a hand for the blonde to shake. niall stares for him for one more moment then beams, taking the hand and shakes it.

 

"thanks on taking care of our little lou here, it's probably a hard time to endure." niall jokes, and louis hits on the back of his hand, pouting. niall retrieves his hand with a glare and a curse, as louis flings his arms around harry's shoulders, throwing his friend back a look equally challenging. harry chuckles to himself, watching as the scene unfolds.

 

"so lou, seems like we finally could have a Slytherin to fill in our circle, huh?" niall folds his arms in front of his chest, smiling knowingly.

 

louis meets his gaze, holding it for while. "let's see ni," he then nudges at the Slytherin attached to his side, "but y'know, this one here is a cutie."

 

"right, it's your decision, after all, me and li don't mind much," niall sighs, his eyes then falling on harry's confused face, he laughs and goes on to explain, "well as you may see harry, me and lou are in a very tight group, there's only one person beside us and we're all from different houses: louis' in Gryffindor, i'm from Ravenclaw and liam's in Hufflepuff. and one more Slytherin would just be perfect so it would feel more completed. like what i said, a circle."

 

"people might easily think that we have a bunch of other friends," louis adds, "but we value our close friends a lot more than them."

 

harry breathes out, nodding. it seems like louis and niall and this liam guy are in a close clique. sure, harry has a lot of acquaintances in his old school, but he never tends to fit into any groups.

 

right then, the bell rings, signalling for dinner time. they bid farewell to one another then separate paths, walking to the long table of their own houses.

 

dinner was quick and soon they're all going back to their common rooms, getting ready for baths and sleep. louis hurries to take a shower then when he is sitting in one of the chairs near the fireplace with a wet towel draped over his shoulders, the door is pushed open softly, revealing a niall with hair equally as wet slipping in.

 

louis is thinking about harry, the kind of mysterious boy he met today. it has only been barely a day and everything is going on so quick, like louis hasn't even known it and harry has already waltzed in. it should feel weird, how he is warming up to and even liking someone immediately after spending a few hours with them, but the conversations with harry come up naturally to him.

 

"bonsoir," louis greets when niall plops down onto a love seat beside him, "where's liam?"

 

they've been doing this for years — gathering up at each other's common rooms at evenings, sometimes studying, most of the time filling around. it take turns between the houses, each one for a month and it goes around like a cycle. however, so far they've never really been into the Slytherin common room, just occasionally during group projects.

 

in the various version of story they heard, the Slytherin common room is tinted with a layer of green shadows, reflected by the lake nearby, it's cold and there isn't much of a fireplace, so students huddles together under bunch of green hand-knitted blankets while studying. of course, things changes a hell lot since the wizarding world war era, but sure there is still traces of Slytherin nature underneath. louis and his friends always wonder what is their password. if there's two things the Slytherins don't like to share is the password and food, which is assumed to be tradition, running in the Slytherin blood.

 

(it's "minty bubbles" for Gryffindor at the time being, Hufflepuff's being a series of knocks in certain rhythm, Ravenclaw's is "who's the friend who likes to play?" as the question and any answers that sound abstract and mysterious.)

 

"think he's got caught up with mrs. parkinson, prefect stuffs," niall replies, as he fished out a pack of candies from his pocket, handing one to louis. louis unwraps it and throws it into his mouth without looking at the package.

 

a strong metallic taste of saltiness goes down his throat immediately, he spits it out, disgusted.

 

"what the fuck is this?"

 

the Ravenclaw shrugs, turning the plastic pack around to take a look, "bloody caramel. it's a limited edition, only sold at the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."

 

"no wonder i thought i swallowed blood, heck i'm not a vampire, nigel. how could you eat something as foul as this?" louis exclaims, putting the remaining candy into a tissue.

 

niall shrugs again.

 

"like they say, intelligent people are more or less a bit insane." louis shakes his head, sighing loudly.

 

"hey don't stereotype my house you Gryffindor shit!"

 

louis merely chuckles. he leans back into his seat and takes a sip from his hot tea. niall continues with his bloody snacking.

 

"so...what do you think about harry?"

 

niall flashes louis a glance, making an indifferent face, "honestly i don't think liam would mind, he's okay with anyone. and you know i'm okay with it as long as you're happy with it."

 

"i have no idea. he's cool and pretty, good lad, nice little body," louis comments, "but we've just known him for a day."

 

"but you look at him different — don't think i didn't see it, lou," niall quickly adds on when louis looks startled, "indeed, harry is different."

 

"different? what do you mean?"

 

"just — " niall pauses, contemplating for a more suitable word, " _different_ , i guess. it's the aura surrounding him, it's red unlike the others."

 

"what aura, niall? speak english please." louis deadpans.

 

"oopsie daisy, 'ave been talking too much to Grandma Loony again. erm, i mean his demeanour. like, sometimes i get this six sense when i'm around werewolves and veelas."

 

"so you're saying harry is one of those breeds?"

 

"no," niall says, furrowing his brows, "he doesn't feel like any veelas and he's certainly not a werewolf. it's another feeling."

 

"oh." louis chews at the inside of his cheeks, glancing at his friend uncertainly.

 

"but don't worry about it." niall claps louis on the shoulders twice as reassurance, "i can also feel that he's nice and not harmful. he'll probably throw flowers and candies down the aisle next time you see him."

 

"alright. i guess time will tell, and i can invite him to sit with us so liam can decide too." louis concludes, a yawn accidentally escaping his lips, "oh god. i think i'm heading to bed, herbology exam is tomorrow."

 

niall hums a goodnight and louis waves a goodbye at him. he waits until his best friend is out of the door and out of his sight does he go back to his own bunk.

 

and he lies on the bed, replaying all the events that has happened today and thinking about what niall has said.

 

_⊱•⊰_

_ii._

_the prince of vampires, Edward_

_is fuming and outraged_

_he has to revenge for his late father_

_and put the secret back into its cage_

_young, beautiful, and brave, he sets off_

_on his journey for the forbidden mission_

_he crossed harbours, forests_

_landing in front of the palace for his brilliant ambition_

_the King brings him in_

_and put him to a job_

_soon, he rises to the top_

_by becoming the King’s heartthrob_

_but no, he didn’t forget_

_about his one true purpose_

_he inches his way into the King’s_

_heart by earning the full of his trust_

_King William couldn’t believe_

_the sheer loyalty of a mere servant_

_soon as he starts to bring him to hunt_

_Edward knows his time has come_

_one day he tricks the King_

_into going to hunt alone_

_he was there, lurking at the back_

_waiting for a chance to throw him off his throne_

_there, he reveals his true identity_

_as the prince  of the vampire royalty_

_he tells the King, “you have to pay_

_for what you’ve done and there’s no room for escape.”_

_William fights him with a wand_

_but to no avail_

_Edward fights back with his teeth_

_and beats William to the ground_

_⊱•⊰_

 

harry's got an elegant way of doing magic, louis discovers by the second time they caught up to practice spells together, his wand is made long, quite similar to what louis has, and he polishes it really well. louis has seen him wiping it with some kind of a special ointment. harry's fingers are long and slim, the way his flicks his wrist is fascinating to watch, if not hypnotizing. he also occasionally do these tricks with his wand, like making it do a beautiful dance up the air, or sometimes he has these different ways of casting a spell. louis thinks maybe it is how he was taught in his old school before he came to hogwarts.

 

harry told him that in his family, children are taught magic since a very young age, way before they actually go to magic school. he himself was taught some self-defence skills too, and extras stuffs like how to use your body strength to the greatest. louis has witnessed him carrying big objects and running around in insane speed. well, at least faster than louis since the Gryffindor boy himself isn't too into of sports.

 

"harry!" louis calls from the end of the hallway in the astronomy tower, a site where they find themselves frequently in these few weeks.

 

"wha — ?" harry calls back, putting down a big crystal ball that he was examining.

 

"my patronus doesn't work quite well. would you come here and have a look?" louis asks politely.

 

"sure." harry replies, walking back to where he wandered off from, "well, now do it again."

 

the Gryffindor nods, proceeding to wave his wand in the air. a pile of pale azure light emits from the end of the stick, zooming into the space and swirling up in its own pixie dust before it dies down.

 

"see? i told you, it doesn't even take shape!" he complains, distress clear in his voice.

 

"it's not exactly an easy magic, so it's normal that you could only perform a corporeal patronus after loads of practices. i remember i spent a whole month before i could get the sparkle out." harry smiles at the boy kindly, so as to reassure him.

 

"oh, so can you perform a proper patronus charm by now?" louis asks.

 

"yes, um, 70% of the time i can do a decent one."

 

"and what form does your patronus take? i know patronuses take form as the animal to you have the closest affinity." louis questions again.

 

"i believe it is a fox, if it hasn't changed," harry answers, "what's yours?"

 

"a fox! that's awesome harry. i don't even know what mine is, 'cause it's kinda weird...has a long tail and pointed ears, but small and furry."

 

harry contemplates the description for a bit, before shrugging, "not sure what that is. well, do you wanna see mine?"

 

louis nods his head yes enthusiastically, his eyes lighting up with excitement. harry grins then pulls out his wand from his robe. he twists his wrist, the tip of his wand does a swirling pattern in the air. he speaks a loud, clear _expecto patronum,_ and a puff of blue mist explodes from his wand. it flies out of the wooden stick, spiralling in the air, before condensing into a fox form and hops around the globes of the planets models. louis watches and laughs as the fox jumps across himself, stopping at his shoulder. it jumps off and dies down in a corner.

 

louis is still looking at the remains of the sparkle dust where the fox patronus was a moment ago. he turns to his Slytherin friend and exclaims, flinging his arms around, " _merlin_ this is one of the best i've ever seen. harry where on earth did you learn such good skills?"

 

the curly haired boy smirks, yet defends for himself humbly, "nah, i was just feeling exceptionally lucky today. and i just studied at a local school. it's called the sang-ventouse school for magic."

 

"never heard of that one, sorry." louis gives a half apologetic smile.

 

"i don't expect anyone to anyways, no one who got transferred here was from there. it's just a small school near my house." harry explains indifferently, slipping his wands back into his pants.

 

"where did you live?"

 

"holmes chapel. small place in cheshire. my school looks like a rotten chemistry lab in the outside."

 

louis snorts out a laugh at that. "hogwarts is no where better, i think they put up a 'toxic' sign up front."

 

harry laughs also. "okay now let's see what your patronus is."

 

"definitely. uh..."

 

taking a step closer to louis, the Slytherin reaches around the shorter lad's shoulder to hold at his fist with the wand, just like what he did when they were practicing difficult spells during previous times. louis shivers at the warm touch while he feels harry's body heat presses against his own.

 

harry, apparently feels the shiver, shoots louis a concerned look, "you cold?"

 

the boy shrugs, using his free hand to pull the collar of his robe together, "well, this wind isn't exactly weak."

 

"you could've told me." harry frowns a bit then lets go of louis, only to take off his own robe and drape it over louis' shoulders.

 

"thanks." louis murmurs meekly, "you're not cold?"

 

"i'm warm-blooded." harry announces.

 

("okay, cool." louis gives harry a suspicious look.)

 

louis extends his wand and waves it in the air, in a spiralling motion just like what harry did with his. he shouts out expecto patronum and a blue puff of light pushes out from the tip of the wand. it condenses and begins to take shape. a long tail starts to form at the back and it travels up to the creature's petite body, starting around at it's hind legs. it seems to be a mammal, however, just when the two little ears begin to perk up on the head the patronus dies down.

 

louis and harry shares a look.

 

"it still doesn't work out much." louis munches at the inside of his lips, "my DADA test is next week, i don't think in any way could i be able to perform this well."

 

harry sighs through his nose, "guess we will just have to practice more. is this an important part of the whole exam?"

 

"thankfully, no, the mains are levicorpus and a few of the stunning spells, which i think some of the time i can do them well. patronus charm is a bonus because it's after all an advanced magic, but while i can do others good i might as well ace this."

 

"good strategy," harry praises, "then maybe i will have to study next year's curriculum beforehand since it'll only be getting more and more difficult."

 

" _please do_ ," louis says, emphasizing, "so i can depend on you."

 

"let's see about that, shall we tommo?" the smirk is back, "you're lucky that beside password i share everything else."

 

"ooh," louis drags in a sing-song voice, "so it's true that you Slytherins don't share passwords?"

 

"the day i got sorted, a prefect immediately pulled me to a side and gave me a hard time about that, said it's tradition that must be kept even when all others aren't. it scared me shitless too, and i thought hogwarts would be a cold place." weakly chuckling, harry elaborates.

 

"you? the i-can-do-everything harry scared shitless?" louis teases, "oh wait forgot you're not Gryffindor."

 

"shut yo mouth louis, before i decide not to tutor you anymore for your exam and you can 'die' like you claimed you would." harry threatens, pouting, "and it's you who told me not to stereotype."

 

"okay okay fiiiine," the Gryffindor's eyes widen at the comment and flings his arms up in surrender, "my apologies."

 

"better be." harry states smugly, triumph clearly in his voice.

 

louis cackles loudly at the respond, laughing a full-on laugh with head thrown back. nothing is so funny, it's just that he has the urge to laugh during the moment. he is slightly surprised at how fast is he warming up to the Slytherin boy, and how big harry is making him laugh. harry looks down at him and it's like the laugh is contagious, and he starts chortling along with louis. they stand there for a while minute, hugging their stomachs which ache from all the laughter fits, before managing to calm down.

 

still smiling at his surroundings, he suddenly feels a burst of happiness and rips his wand out, pointing in the not far distance and shouts a confident and firm expecto patronum again. this time a strong and blinding light emits, the patronus somehow looks like a baby shiba but neither of them is too sure. it has a very furry tail to match the long, wraithy blue coat of stardust wrapping the animal that dances around whenever it shields away shyly, as if it’s still hiding from the dangerous world. the creature takes shape and it goes all the way to its long nose before it's gone again.

 

"gosh, that's so fantastic lou!" the taller of the two claps once the charm is gone, pure joy (through his body.)

 

"now that we see the nose, but is that a wolf? dog? fox?...cheetah?"

 

"i don't know!" harry is still gushing, "i just think that once you master this spell fully your patronus will be even more serene than mine."

 

"you're kidding." louis waves the comment away, but secretly in his heart he does hope so. if only one day he could be very skilled in magic and make a proud Gryffindor. "patronuses are just generally beautiful."

 

"but it all depends on the performer's closest affinity, innit?" harry debates.

 

"harry styles, are you trying to compliment me for my breathtaking good looks?"

 

"that you are though." harry shoots back. smooth, harry, smooth.

 

(ten points to harry)

 

"whatever," louis pulls back the extra robe when it’s slipped off to his shoulderblades, "let’s go back to practice, shall we?"

 

harry was going to nod, but is interrupted by none ot5her than the Gryffindor student.

 

"but it’s pretty late harry, don't you have lessons to attend?"

 

the boy takes a look of his watch, widening his eyes and he sees the time, "oh right, it's almost time for my transfiguration. thanks for reminding me lou."

 

"it's okay, i have to meet up with the lads too. speaking of them, you haven't even met liam right?"

 

"yes i haven't," harry confirms, "i have only talked to niall a few times in class."

 

"cool. then we'll have you meet liam soon." louis decides, "but don't worry, he'll like you, he likes everyone."

 

"sure," there's slight wonder laced in harry's tone, "but now let's go, or shall we, mister?" harry jokes, bowing and offering his louis a hand.

 

"why, of course we shall, my ." louis takes the hand, mocking a serious tone and playing along with the Slytherin boy.

 

so the pair gracefully mount down the squeaky wooden stairs. as they exit, they mindlessly look yo at the paintings hanging off the walls in the corridor which they've somehow become so familiar with. reaching the end of it, harry releases the (dainty) hand he has been holding and instead, places his arms around louis’ shoulders. it does seems like some solemnity to behold once you enter the great hall. their steps come into a halt when they come to the centre of it, which is filled with all students and teachers heading different directions and minding their own businesses.

 

harry jolts his thumb to the hallway behind him, "i’m going this way."

 

louis flashes a smile, pointing to the opposite direction, "and me that way. we’re gathering up at the Hufflepuff homeroom today. you’re welcomed to stop by anytime after your lesson."

 

harry returns the offered smile and turns. louis watches as the boy saunters away, his tall figure casting a shadow on the floor behind him. he can’t help the chuckle that is bubbling up his throat, he watches a bit more, but at last he, too, turns around and head to the Hufflepuff common room where his friends are waiting for him.

 

he lets himself into the common room, carefully slipping past the wooden door without creating any sound, despite the Hufflepuffs are used to seeing students from all of the houses gathering up in their home room anyways. on tip toes, he creeps up behind his two still-oblivious best friends who are sitting crossed legs on the carpet floor. he sneaks by niall and reaches the back of liam, who is concentrating on a roll of parchment which suspiciously looks a lot like students names grouped together, and slams both of his palms on the Hufflepuff's shoulders. liam is traumatized by the sudden blow and gives a little scream of fright. he frowns at louis when the said boy hugs his own middle and bursts into hystericals.

 

"aww you're always so fun to play with lili." ("hey, don't call me that anymore!") louis ruffles his best friend's hair (causing a whine) and circles around his sitting form. he grabs a pillow from the recliner and gets comfortable on the ground, "so, what are you guys doing up?"

 

"detention list for the most troublesome students in this school. god, this is such hard work. and niall is probably re-reading _Secrets of the Dark Arts again_."

 

louis looks to the fake-blonde, watching as he scrunches his eyebrows up at some of the passages in the contents, using one hand to flip the pages and another hand keep digging into a bag of sweets. "no one told you take up the post as the head prefect, you should've known. and seriously, when is niall not eating and reading?"

 

"i thought it was just beautiful bathrooms and naked mermaids." liam mumbles under his breath, glaring at the paper. louis peers over his shoulders and investigates the list, the students are divided according to their houses, there are series of markings of stars beside mainly students in Slytherin and Gryffindor.

 

at that moment, something hits the prefect's head then proceeds to fall beside him. liam turns and see it's a string of gummy worm. "niall! i thought you couldn't hear that."

 

"i'm good at multitasking and i'm still here, so would you mind to go somewhere not near me to seduce the mermaids?" niall still isn't looking up from his brick-thick book, however jealousy and sarcasm heavily laced in his voice. then he shuts the book and flashes his boyfriend an overly-cheerful beam, "pick up Rufus and eat him, don't waste my food."

 

liam's jaw falls agape, he raises an difficult eyebrow, gingerly picking up the yellow and red gummy worm and holds it in from of his eyes, "this... _thing_ is called Rufus?"

 

"yes and don't judge, or he is going straight up to your asshole." niall spares liam one last glance then turns to louis, dragging his name out in a sing-song voice, "louuuuuis, how's practice with your lover boy?"

 

"harry and i are not...u-uh...not yet. practice is cool, but i still don't know what my patronus is. harry's a fox."

 

"oh, interesting! mine is an owl."

 

"i told him to stop by after his DADA class, not sure if he's gonna make it though." louis announces."liam, be a good daddy and approves harry and me please."

 

"that's what parents do isn't it, niall love?"

 

niall answers a "yes of course love" and reaches over louis to peck on his boyfriend's lips. louis is unfortunately trapped under the sickenly-lovely couple so he cringes up at them.

 

"have you even seen harry before, li? louis says he's a transfer." niall nonchalantly brings up when they've departed.

 

("curly. green eyes. smirks and tall like giant." louis supplies.)

 

"no, i don't believe so." liam shakes his head and concludes after thinking over all the Slytherins he met, "wait, he's a transfer?"

 

"yes, harry is a transfer from a school around cheshire which i've never heard of. niall says he feels different from others."

 

niall goes on to explain something along the lines of aura and stuffs. it casts liam deep into thoughts, furrowing his brows.

 

"what? liam? what is it?" louis questions, frantic.

 

"nothing." the said boy immediately brushes it off, "it's just something i once overheard of ms. parkinson talking to other teachers. i heard that all those transferred students are supposed to be other breeds."

 

"like those werewolves auras i always sense?" niall quips from the side.

 

"yeah, like those," liam nods in affirmation, "there should be a bunch of werewolves, veelas, pixies...and vampires. their school system is different from us wizards so they're always transfers."

 

"even...even vampires are here?" the Gryffindor questions, unbelief clear in his ask, "we seldom hear from their community."

 

"well i don't know for sure. i'm just saying."

 

they didn't say anymore on the same topic afterwards, because that's when the door opens and a tall, lean and Slytherin figure slips into the room.

 

"harry! glad you could make it!" louis jumps from his position in the ground, a bit too eagerly, and rushes towards his new friend.

 

"of course. i promised, didn't i?" harry flashes a blinding grin at louis, who tugs at his wrist and  leads him to the two others boys sitting on the ground, who are looking up with curious eyes.

 

"harry, this is our dear lima bean. and liam, harry. and you know niall, so." louis introduces the two lads, gesturing between them while liam shoots him a glare of making fun of him again. but then he turns to the Slytherin and offers a kind smile and waves.

 

harry waved back, "hey liam, niall." and takes a seat beside louis, pressing up at his side.

 

the boys all welcomed him. harry bites at his lips while he tries to relax at louis' constant warmth where the lad is hanging his arm around. they start introducing themselves. harry finds that niall's hobby is to eat and study about the dark arts, liam does not really enjoy being the head prefect and his patronus is a cheetah, and finally louis who (he already knows) hasn't had any idea for his future career but is exceptionally good in theory exams.

 

they fall together quite well, harry is fairly relieved that louis' friends like him too, maybe not as much as louis does yet since they've just literally met him. but it's still a confidence boost and soon, he finds himself enjoying this comfy, small group and niall and liam's occasional PDA, somehow wishing he could do some of that too.

 

"so harry, how are you feeling studying at hogwarts? i heard that you are a transfer." liam turns to harry and asks.

 

"it's great here, the halls are really beautiful, especially at the top of the astronomy tower." (louis has to physically bite at his lips to stop his face from breaking into a large grin) "the people are okay, i guess, and i learnt that the people in my house could get pretty close to you if they see you as a real friend."

 

harry continues when he sees the rest of the lads slowly nodding along, "yeah. i think the sorting hat has really sorted us out. before i came here i always heard that Slytherins are supposed to be cold and only minding their own business first. it's kind of true, but people only do this to protect themselves, so to people they don't trust, they may seem mean to them. underneath all that traditional beliefs, actually, it just takes us a little bit more time to trust people enough to be good to them. but if we decide to value our friends, i think we could really go all out to help them even if it means going down to hell. i was taught to only care for myself and the ones i want to care for, and maybe that's quite similar to all what people are doing, however they just put it all down to a façade like they'd only protect themselves during crisis and like to self-isolate, maybe they're just scared to get hurt."

 

there is a beat of silence after the boy finished his mini-speech. louis is stunned, to be honest, he never thought someone like harry could be this deep as well. it seems like harry is those who would prefer to choose his own battles, while he himself could possibly fight them all and get himself into a sticky situation. he thought Gryffindors are made to be loyal, but perhaps Slytherins are loyal in their own unique way too.

 

it was, after all, liam to be the one who makes the first move. he pats a warmly-smiling harry on the shoulder and simply states, "welcome to the family, then."

 

"well well well, this one is a keeper isn't he, liam?" niall, being niall, chirps to break the over-sentimental moment, watching harry curiously with intense eyes, "and is he tutoring you good, lou?"

 

"of course he is," louis wakes up from his daydream by the mention of his name, and turns to pinch harry's cheek lightly in a playful manner, "without him i think i won't even _survive_ in the exams." he looks back at his small circle of friends with widened eyes for extra effects.

 

"see if you could beat me, styles." niall directs his words at the Slytherin, inching his chin upwards as if he's talking about a challenge. niall, though is goofy, has been a real genius, isn't afraid to show off. it would be a high chance that the battle might never end if harry and niall were to compete against each other. besides skill-wise, they are really very similar, louis figures, the only difference is that niall is a bit more bubbly and obnoxious.

 

"i just studied earlier and harder, i am nowhere near you, you know that, horan." by the ghost of the smirk that lingers on harry's face, louis couldn't tell if he's teasing or being bitter-serious.

 

"might as well give us a round of performance then, curly head." niall is definitely joking with harry now, "lou, show us what you've learnt."

 

"i might embarrass myself and destroy liam's homeroom." louis grumbles under his breath, but nonetheless, extends both of his hands for harry to pull him up.

 

"no worries, we have magic and we have me, the head prefect."

 

liam gestures impatiently for the duo to carry on right now, which the curly haired lad quickly obliques and gives his wand a few twists, sending glitters up the ceiling and snowflakes down. he wordlessly let the painting on the wall hangs upside-down, and a few more charms making use of what he has in hands, and in return, louis performs a good few of spells that he has mastered, under harry's guidance, over the past month. he focuses on the laughters shared between him and his friends, and _harry_ , and out of the blue made a patronus (which he still thinks is a pup) stays for about half a minute.

 

the boys all cheer him on, they're happy because they see their best friend is progressing. they think with harry coming along, it makes situations naturally better and maybe, he fits in  the group without any effort.

 

"louis."

 

louis hums as in to say "what?"

 

"i just thought of this thing which my mom once taught me. it is supposed to be advanced, but i think it might be easier for us because it doesn't require speaking or anything."

 

"okay, what is it?"

 

"it's called duelling," harry states (receiving a recognizing-noise from niall), "basically we just hold our wands to each other and we can stay in silence if we want. and just try to use our determination to disarm the other person."

 

"well it seems like the same kind of 'determination' that i've been working on," louis ponders the idea, "yeah, let's try."

 

"sure." a not-smirk but awfully delighted smile makes its way up to harry's features, louis gauges at it for a fascinated moment before harry narrows his eyes and ducks a bit.

 

harry raises his wand and points it straight at louis' chest, where they are about more than a metre away from each other, facing. louis scrambles to do the same, pointing his wand to harry, so that their wands lines up perfectly. it has started before louis could do anything, he feels as though his wand is jerking from his grasp, vibration shaking through it. he grips his stick tighter and closes his eyes, focusing on nothing but the tugs at his heart strings.

 

he mutters _expelliarmus_ under his breath, and it seems like it has worked for a while because the slight jerking stops. however, when the wand starts growing hotter in his hands, he takes a sharp breath and thinks nothing besides _standstillstandstillstandstill_. he opens his eyes slowly and finds harry wearing a conflicted expression, brows pulled together and pursing lips, one which louis doesn't usually find but is strangely attracted to.

 

the wand begins to jerk more, and is getting even hotter, burning hot. some red-wine-coloured sparkles first emits from the tip of his partners' wand, then it shoots out like a jet. louis stares in half-shock-half-astonishment as he sees his own wand doing the same, only it's a baby blue colour — the beams meet in mid air — the blow is powerful, as if both wands are resisting each other and tempting one another to give in first, it's like pushing the sides of two magnet of the same charge together, it feels like you could push it but is pushed back at the corners. the force is pushing back so hard that it almost feels like it is pulling him in at the same time.

 

"you can do it, babe." he almost hears harry's voice whispering into his ear like every time they would do when they got practice.

 

"don't back down for me." louis grits out through a clenched jaw, all from the energy he had to use to hold his own wand less rigid.

 

a loud bang is heard. louis furrows his brows in confusion and follows the narrow rays of blue light and looks up. there he sees it. a ball of deep, golden bubble has risen from where the power of the two wands meet, rising up to throw sparkles down. it is almost like a explosion breaking out, but other than gold light it is gold light, and other than that it is a mixture of blue lights and red light. the sphere covers harry and louis, the light blinding, surrounding them by a layer like a cage and trapping them into it.

 

it is so loud, louis isn't sure if someone is shouting, or it might even be he himself. he doesn't have time to look in harry's direction to see if the boy is okay, before he's all being sent back by a gush of power that flows from his hand that is holding the wand then rackets through his whole body, as if electricity is running through his veins. he might be cracking into half for all he knows, he could only see white lights, white lights.

 

he shuts his eyes tight.

 

⊱•⊰

 

when he re-open his eyes, the first thing he sees is liam's face, liam's worried face. he feels warm fingertips kneading into the flesh of his cheeks as he slowly begins to hear someone calling his name. the next thing he knows is that there is a searing pain slipping from the back of his spine up to his back. he holds on whoever's hand (probably liam's) and sits up, examining his surroundings.

 

"what the fuck," he mumbles weakly when he finds himself on the ground at the far end of the big room, unlike in the middle of it where he was a few minutes ago.

 

"oh gosh. thank god you're thrown on carpet, are you okay?" liam's anxious but gentle voice travels to his ears.

 

louis winces at the pain on his bum, which is fortunately starting to fade away. "i-i think i am...what happened?"

 

"that should be me asking you. one second you and harry were duelling, and the next there was this golden blob of light and you were thrown miles away."

 

louis' eyes widen at the reminder of the other boy, just when a loud groan is heard from the opposite end of the room. "oh! harry!" he quickly staggers to his feet with the help of liam. he rushes to the other side, and coming into a halt as he sees his blonde friend helping harry up as well. there is shock in harry's eyes, and his lips are parted, as he pants.

 

louis grips on harry's forearms, scanning the taller lad up and down with a crease etched between his brows, "harry! oh merlin are you alright? are you hurt — "

 

"no, louis, are you alright?" harry cuts the frantic boy off mid-sentence, examining him instead. he perks louis' hands away from his forearms only to hold at them on concern. "you got any injuries? concussion? broke a spine? coz i saw you thrown off quite far, fuck, you must be blown."

 

louis lets out a surprised giggle, "no, harry, i'm okay. see? i was getting up before you did, right? are you sure you're okay?"

 

"i'm good. i grabbed on a chair so it's not much harm done," harry explains, shrugging. he is still panting slightly but the shock has reduced, "but i don't understand. what have we done that triggered this?" he gestures his hands around as if he is describing something very abstract.

 

"great, i'm just thinking the exact same thing," an irish accent booms behind them, louis and harry whip around to see liam and niall already by their side.

 

"yeah, what on earth did you two cast?" liam demands.

 

"i don't know, our wands are shooting out these light strokes and then a gold globe of light just rose from where the rays meet." harry replies, confusion evident in his voice.

 

"we weren't even trying any spells, right, harry? we're just duelling, doing what people do when they're duelling." louis adds.

 

louis turns to his Ravenclaw best friend, only to see him frowning, as if he was concentrating on his thoughts. this is not a rare state that the lads would see niall in, since the boy could always go all serious on his studies. however, when niall is making this face, it usually means he has thought of something really important.

 

"babe, what is it?" liam asks his lover.

 

niall cocks his head to a side, before taking a sharp breath and saying, "we're going to the headmasters, no excuse. the mess here could wait."

 

it was only then does louis notice how wrecked the room is. the chairs and sofas are blown off to a few feets away and the bean bag and blankets are scattering everywhere. luckily there isn't a glass table and snow globes in the room (like what the Ravenclaw homeroom has) so the damage to the tables are too big. but it's certainly a mess.

 

for once, lima, being a head prefect, doesn't mind not cleaning up the mess first. he finds himself nodding to niall's orders, because whatever happened is weird and should not have happened, and if niall consider going to the professors, they probably should.

 

therefore, they all grab their own wands and head off to the headmasters' room. it' squire late at night and they really shouldn't be wandering in the castle, but this is important and by niall's suggestion they should seek help from a proper teacher. the walk to the headmasters' room is long and quiet. no one dared speak another word to each other, merely because each one if their minds are currently swimming in curiosity and questions.

 

eventually, they stop in front of a wooden door. quickly, the foursome exchange glances as they nod, louis raises a hand to knock on the door.

 

the door opens and reveals a Professor Malfoy, in his inside-out robe and messy hair. (which none of the four dares to comment or snicker on) his eyes grow by fraction as he sets eyes on the boys, even more surprised when his gaze lands on harry. "o-oh well my boys, isn't it a bit too late? never mind though, please do come in first."

 

Professor Malfoy leads the group further into the room, where they meet Professor Potter, who is sitting on a desk, shirt crumbled but looking slightly more presentable. the room is hot, the heat radiating off fireplace. Albus Potter takes in the appearance of the four boys, noticing that all of them seems out of breath and pale.

 

"mr. payne, mr. horan, mr. tomlinson...mr. styles. good evening, to what do we owe the pleasure? is something happening, liam?" Albus greets them, and decides to turn to the head prefect for answers.

 

"yes something is happening, or happened, sir." liam begins.

 

"it was having a big effect and we found it very very strange. so we decide to come inform you right away." niall finishes it off.

 

he and liam gradually explains the whole situation to the two headmasters, gesturing to harry and louis. Professor Malfoy and Potter both keep quiet in the whole process, but a light frown is on their faces. their gazes flicker around the two boys, making harry and louis slide closer to each other. they're not used to being stared so intensely by people, especially it's the headmasters. louis feels harry's pinkie brushes against his own.

 

the headmasters nod heavily when the boys are finished explaining. niall leaves out the part where they kind of wrecked the Hufflepuff homeroom a bit, lest they would get scolded, since they could easily fix the damage by themselves anyways. Professor Malfoy turns to his husband, they stay silent but are making some kind of conversation within glances, while the four boys are watching anxiously. at last, they seem to have come to an agreement as Professor Malfoy speaks, "are you thinking what i'm thinking?"

 

"but that is extremely rare, Scorpy, do you really think it is?" Albus replies, jerking up and eyebrow.

 

Professor Malfoy shrugs, shifting his attention back to harry and louis. "do you two have your wands with you?"

 

the addressed boys hurry to nod, pulling their respective wands from their pockets, wordlessly handing them to Professor Malfoy. Professor Potter also joins in to examine the wands. harry's wand is slightly longer and bulkier than louis' by a few inches, but after all it's just a wand.

 

"what are your wands made of?"

 

"mine is made of pine wood, core is unicorn tail hair." harry replies immediately, "have been having it since i was like, six."

 

louis is slightly surprised by harry's answers, since all people in the wizard community got their letters on their eleventh birthday then proceed to buy their wands. maybe harry's community is different from his, as he told louis before that he went to magic school since a very young age. but then, after all, louis isn't even sure if harry belongs to one of the other races.

 

"and mine is elm, also with unicorn tail hair as core." louis tells Professor Malfoy.

 

"hmm," Professor Potter produces a pair of glasses from nowhere, putting it on and brings both wands close to his face, "very long living, both of them. unicorn tail hair, huh?"

 

both louis and harry nod. Professor Malfoy steps close to his husband, "unicorn tail hair is not rare, i have mine in unicorn tail hair core too. however, the reaction that got out of them is not particularly common."

 

the bespectacled teacher hops down from the table, he crouches down a bit to the teenagers' height and seizes each one of their shoulders. he gaze pours into harry and louis' eyes, as he asks, "from what you have described, this is suspiciously similar to an effect called Priori Incantatem. have you heard of that?"

 

all but niall shakes their heads. the blondie lets out a tiny gasp of breath, hesitantly exclaiming, "i think i have seen it in one of the books about wandlore!"

 

"very good, mr. horan." Professor Potter straightens himself. Scorpius Malfoy turns around to a bookshelf at the back and fishes out a book, handing it to the other man, "it's the reaction when two wands with the same core origin are forced to duel each other, that is, if the hair is taken from the same unicorn. now look at this."

 

the six of them in the room moves in to circle around a vintage-looking book placed on the professor's hand, flipped to a page where two wands are displayed. the tips of the two wands are pointed directly to each other, while two jets of light rays of different colour shooting out of them. in the middle of it where the lights meet, there is a globe of white-golden bubble of light, hissing and sparkling.

 

"that is exactly what happened, except the difference in colours of the light rays." louis points out, bewildered.

 

"aha, then our assumption is true. priori incantatem is a rare reaction because the chance of two wands with the same origin of core meeting and yelling is extremely low, talking about the possibilities. i've only witnessed the same kind of reaction twice in my lifetime, so you could say you're in luck." the professor flashes harry and louis a kind smile.

 

"or fate." scorpius quips behind his husband's back.

 

" _anyways_." albus concludes, "if you want to be one hundred percent sure, you still have to go back to your wand makers. i'd love to see it in person, but it seems to be too dangerous to make you two duel again."

 

"the wands with the same origin of core usually have a much stronger bond and effect in each other than others, considering that they are brother wands." scorpius adds on, "on the other hand, wands with unicorn hair as cores are said to be those which bond the deepest with their owners — " he looks down at harry and louis's almost-entwined hands, "are you two getting along with each other?"

 

"um. yeah. totally." louis stutters out, thoroughly shocked by his headmaster's question

 

"we're...u-uh...erm" the curly-haired boy takes an embarrassed side glance towards louis, whose cheeks turn red under the stare.

 

"okay i get it. good." Professor Malfoy chuckles, "wand chooses it's owner, boys. and since brother wands tend to either bond or resist, so the relationship between you two would get a bit affected too. either you become insanely close, which would be perfect, or mortal enemies, which is the worst."

 

louis gauges at the phrase "mortal enemies" and cringes at it, "hmm, we'll never become that."

 

harry is chewing at his bottom lips as he agrees, "yeah, never in a million years."

 

Albus Potter claps his hands together, "awesome! now that it seems that this situation is fully-investigated, and i'm sure your bedtimes have definitely passed. go back to your dorms, boys. just avoid duelling since we don't know how much damage would it cost."

 

all four of the students murmur their goodbye's and left the room, feeling heavy and sleepy after the long talk with their headmasters. they decide to head back to the Hufflepuff homeroom to clear up the mess first, before going off to their separated dorms. harry leaves with louis and niall, stopping at a crossed hallway since the Slytherin homeroom is on the other side of the castle. they bid goodnight's to each other while harry takes off, niall walking louis back to his own homeroom.

 

_⊱•⊰_

_iii._

_the prince begins to say,_

_"you stole from us a secret_

_and now you have to pay for this empire_

_you stolen and for your guilt to stay._

_every threesome happens_

_for a reason_

_you kill father, i had to fight back_

_now i have to kill you, and had prepared for my death_

_the King begs and sobs_

_and repents for his sins_

_but Edward steps on him_

_“you betray the world, and falls for a betrayer_

_the secret belongs to us_

_we will never forget you_

_we will not harm your children_

_but close your eyes for your end_

_William’s tears turn into rage_

_as he yells, “the secret_

_belongs to whomever knows it,_

_if you kill me, you’ll face greater regret”_

_“if you face your punishment_

_i won’t tell anyone,”_

_Edward replies, “your kingdom_

_would live in the harm of none.”_

_yet William won’t back down_

_he kicks and spits as his capturer_

_Edward raises his own wand_

_the world stops in a union of Avada Kedavra_

_⊱•⊰_

 

harry styles' eyes are covered by a pair of warm, but delicate hands, blocking his sight to a book. he is startled for a moment, before snickering deeply,

 

"louis, i know it's you."

 

"damn you, styles." a high pitched voice rings out above of him. the teased boy lets go of his palms, giving the Slytherin back his sight. with a pout on his lips, he draws out a chair at the table next to harry.

 

oh, how much harry wants to bite at it and savour its heavenly taste. it's been three months since he had transferred to this school and two months since he's been developing a crush on none other than louis tomlinson, and gosh, time does pass really quick. he tries to keep it neutral, but the thought of louis may or may not be returning the same feelings has always invaded his mind.

 

louis sits down and notices harry is in fact having a company opposite of him. he is slightly surprised by who this person is too. "oh hello liam," louis waves a finger at the figure, liam looks up from his parchment and does a little wave back.

 

louis turns back to harry, and finds him already staring at himself with a strange smile on his lips. there is a glint in his eyes that hides excitement and, what is that? fond? louis immediately looks away under the intense stare. "what?" he manages to mumble out in a low whisper.

 

harry blushes at once he is caught staring too long. he shakes his head a bit and a soft chuckles escapes his lip.

 

louis pulls out something that he's been hiding behind his back, flashing it in front of harry's eyes. "here, take this."

 

the emerald orbs widen at the sight of what's in louis' hands, "a lollipop? for me?"

 

"yeah, just a lil' thing to thank you for helping me pass my exams...i would have got something more than this, but i've literally just got out of my exam, so." louis explains, a shy smile on his lips.

 

harry takes the lollipop and begins unwrapping the plastic, "aww, thank you lou. but you don't have to thank me, you practice it all on your own, i just remind you whenever you forget something or whatever. after all, i'm more thankful that you get me to fit in with the Hogwarts life."

 

louis' heart speeds up at the other boy's subtle compliments, he lets out an awkward giggle and does a gentle shove at harry's biceps, "harry! _stahp_ it. why do we always end up getting sentimental?"

 

harry laughs as well, popping the round ball of candy in his mouth and sucks on it, "well don't blame me. that's just what we do."

 

louis sighs happily and leans back on the chair, putting his arms behind his head, “i think we should really go for celebration, i wanna do a proper thank you."

 

"well, if you really want a celebration, shouldn't we do it somewhere nice, rather than in a library?" harry suggests.

 

"what do you mean?" asks louis.

 

"oh what I mean is that do you fancy going out with me? out of here, to have this..." the Slytherin boy pauses, " _celebration_?"

 

and louis breathes in, well that escalates quickly, but is this actually harry's sneaky excuse of asking him out?

 

"oh, uh, yeah. i mean sure i'd love to."

 

harry grins then, "alright, let me check out these book then we can go." he points at a stack of books on the table.

 

they stands up from their seats at the same time, attracting a glance from the Hufflepuff prefect. harry holds out his arm to louis and louis happily hooks his through it. ("oh, taking him out already?" "no li it's just a...a celebration.) he accompanies his harry to the counter then they set off for nowhere.

 

"where are we going to, harry?"

 

"um, what do you suggest?" harry says, they turning to the school gate. the sun has already started going down, casting a beautiful shade of greyish amber through the sky. the owls are flying around, ready to be on their trip to deliver confidential parchment.

 

"maybe just Hogsmeade? that's actually the furthest we could go without breaking major school rules."

 

the got out of campus and immediately turn for the road leading to the wizard village. it's summer but snowflakes were flying around like usual, iceberg hanging off the shop roofs, layers of thick snow piling on the grounds.

 

("you know what, this tastes really good." harry comments, gently wrapping his mouth around the ball of the lollipop he's munching on.

 

"oh, really?" louis bites at his lips, "it's just one of the many sweets that i bought from the Weasley Wizards' Wheezes some weeks ago. that's the best thing in my dorm at the moment."

 

"cool. uh, i mean, you pick a good choice."

 

"really? what does it taste like then?" louis didn't  wait for harry's answers, but rather directly take the saliva-covered candy into his own mouth, where harry has left it out of his mouth to speak.

 

where tastes it, louis' nose scrunched up a bit at the metallic, thick and yucky taste. "eww, harry you sure? it tastes distinctly like one of niall's bloody-caramel that literally send blood down your throat!"

 

"well, does it?" harry shrugs, taking the lollipop back and starts sucking in it again, "I think it taste awesome. never thought there would be so,etching like this sold here. almost made me feel nostalgic for my hometown."

 

"you're a strange one, styles. almost as weird as niall."

 

"that's just what i do and like,' harry retorts, smirking)

 

they walk and walk, louis never paying much attention. to his surroundings, only blindly following harry's footsteps. all his mind is wandered to how his small hands fit around the crook of harry's arms, how easily could they find warmth buried in the thick black robes. he doesn't realize until the footsteps stopped. he looks up, and whoa —

 

all he sees is pink and glittery. it doesn't take a seer to know it's the Madam Puddifoot's that harry takes him to. now louis seriously questions if this really is not just a celebration.

 

they go into the shop and sit down in a nice table by the window sill. the table is a clear glass with sprayed-white metal in a frilly design spiralling up the foot. there are quite a few couples littering across the coffee shop, and a woman in her sixties running around for orders.

 

almost all the stuffs on the menu are sets for couple, but it's not that harry and louis would mind, no one says a thing and the other doesn't object. they got a set of some fancy sandwich and macaroon and cappuccino (louis gets tea) and kind of just share that, really.

 

"so, lou, i haven't even got the chance to ask you," harry begins, "how did you exam go?"

 

"oh it went quite well actually. i was able to do the reducto spell and a few other hexings, my stunning spell aren't very good but my charms has got them covered. and i was able to perform an at least decent patronus on my own!" louis replies truthfully, ending it with a cheerful tone.

 

"normally i would ask you how did yours go, but since you're not even an official student yet, you don't get exams," louis says when he finished, a hint of fake jealousy in his voice, "nevertheless, your nightmare starts a few months later."

 

"whoa, thanks do the heads-up, mate." harry remarks.

 

louis ignores the slight sass, "according to niall, transfiguration can so sometimes be a pain in the ass."

 

"he's already got a payne in his ass," harry retorts.

 

louis cackles loud at that, having to press his mouth to his palm to muffle it. "oooh that's a good one. gotta tell liam about that."

 

"i know, right?" offering a full-on smirk, harry replies.

 

the rest of the date contains mainly of comfortable silence with both of them stiring at their cups and watching out of the window. louis occasionally telling harry some funny things between liam and niall, just so they could team up in the future to tease them. ("once niall fell asleep at liam's dorm after them doing the deed and forgot to got up and go back to his. mrs parkinson caught them right there and you should totally see her face it's priceless. she's torn between whether to be angry about her favourite student breaking the rules or her favourite head prefect letting him do it.") in return,harry tells him about his awful knock knock jokes ("knock knock" "not again harold!" "i promise it'll be good! — now knock knock" "who's there?" "you know" "you know who?" "exactly" "nice try harry") and a bit of how he went to magic school since primary.

 

they talk from everything to everything. louis also shockingly discovers that harry was supposed to have a twin brother called gemma but she died before she even got out of her mother womb. harry learns that louis' parents are doctors in St. Mungo's all-year-round so normally louis would just dorm at the castle during holidays or sometime go live with his godfather lysander.

 

"harry...is this actually your way of subtly asking me on a date?" louis asks shyly, peeking up at harry through his lashes.

 

harry freezes, but then a smirk makes it's way up to his face, he winks at louis, "why, maybe? if you want this to be a date then it's a date. it can be whatever you want as long as you're happy with it."

 

louis groans, at the same time feeling slightly relieved because he'd be this close in making an idiot out of himself, "oh just admit it, it's a date."

 

"fiiiine. alright," harry admits, dragging out the sound, "it's a date then. i purposely made an excuse to ask you out. satisfied?"

 

"very."

 

"it's getting late, think we should head back?" harry says again, louis looks out of the window adm notice the sky has indeed darkened quite a lot, signalling curfew is close.

 

"sure, let's get the bill."

 

the bill came and louis tried to pay, but harry beats him to it. ("my date, my money, 'kay?") and louis can't really say no to those grass green eyes that manages to charm everyone off.

 

"sometimes i just wish i could do some stargazing at midnight. the curfew here is way too early and the sky darkens way too late. i could never get hold of a star before having to head back." louis randomly raises, pouting at the last.

 

"yeah, man, this sucks quite a bit right? it must be so cool to pick up new constellations we saw in the astronomy tower."

 

"i wish i could see them all." louis glances at the boy next to him sideway.

 

"well actually, i do have a way to do this. it depends on whether you would like accompany me again." harry shrugs.

 

"what? what way?"

 

"y'know, the good ol'...sneaking out." harry smiles coyly.

 

"but won't we get seen?" a smile is already tugging at the corners of louis' lips, yet he asks anyway.

 

"i have my way." harry simply announces.

 

"ah ah. you and your Slytherin ways."

 

"well then are you up to it? sneaking out to watch the stars with me tonight?" harry offers.

 

"of course! who's a Gryffindor who's not brave enough? and i'm certainly not the one." louis says, at they reach the school gate.

 

"good, and I mark your words, Lou." harry turns to face louis, "wait for me at the door, your house, tonight at around 11."

 

"okay," louis promises, just as harry starts to he'd for the direction to his own dorm, "wait — !"

 

harry turns around, a smile on his lips and eyebrows raised as if to say "what?"

 

"how would I know if you're here?"

 

"oh, about that." harry chuckles, gaze pouring into louis', "I think you'll know it, or I'll try to send a message. but let's say, it won't be past 11, alright?"

 

"alright." louis returns the same hard stare. and with that. they both waves goodbye and head for their respective homeroom.

 

louis glances at his phone and sees that it's still 9 o'clock. he goes for a long, steamy bath then flings himself to his bed, not bothering to blow dry his hair. he waits for the time to pasta painfully slow, as he talks to one of his friends in the same dorm. but at last everyone passes out, leaving only louis with his light on, so he just grab a book for his report and starts reading it.

 

it was 10:54 when he feels his pillow vibrates, no wait a minute, pillows don't vibrate on their own, do they? louis frowns and shuts off his book, inching forward to take a closer look.

 

then he remembers his wand under the pillow. his eyes blown wide and he quickly slip his hand under the pillow to pull out his. once again, vibrating and shaky wand.

 

before he even had a chance to wonder what's going on, his phone buzzes from the bed side table. he goes to pick it up, wand still clutched in his hands, and sees that it's a text from harry.

 

_did you feel that? come downstairs._

 

he immediately sends a reply back to the Slytherin and scrambles to put on his robes. while trying his best not to create too many suspicious sound so as to wake the others. his wand is still shaking in his clutch, the vibration flaring up with every step he takes closer to the door. he slips the phone back into his pocket.  
  


he wrenches it open, revealing a harry with a wide beam on his face. louis returns one as well as he carefully closes the door behind him.   
he looks down and sees harry is also holding his own wand in his hand.

 

"lou!" he said in a hushed voice, going for louis' palm to pick it up. "you look good."

 

"what. it's just the same robe." louis giggle and blushes. "for the record, you don't look too bad yourself."

 

harry pulls him flush to his own body, and this holds louis' breath for a short moment. they press up together, trying as hard as they can to hide under the shadows. harry is looking out for anyone (or creatures) passing by while louis follows him very closely.

  
"so it's real," harry whispers into the night where they're at a place somewhat clear, "your wand does recognize mine."

  
"huh?" louis asks, confused.

  
"i did some research about Priori Incantatem and it says brother wands tend to recognize each other or even their owners, even when the two isn't duelling. so apparently when i am near you and i concentrates a bit i could send you a message or something like that." harry explains.

  
"that's quite brilliant. i never knew they could do these. but why didn't our wands recognize each other until now, considering we're together most of the time?"

  
  
"well, maybe they need a fight to ignite their internal sparkle," harry shrugs.

  
he leads them through an open corridor to the backyard of the school campus. louis squealed once he saw the green grass, illuminated by the moonlight, twinkling under the stars. he immediately runs towards the field, grabbing harry's wrist and pulls the lad along. they laugh as they run across the yard like five-year-olds, their giggles piercing through the soft silence of the dark sky. louis looks into harry's eyes and he sees pure happiness, they're so bright and oh boy they shine, louis thinks his own must be mirroring the same expression.

  
at last, louis is the first one to crash to the ground. he sprawls out onto the field, folding his arms behind his head and looks up the starry night. harry falls down beside him a second later, stretching out his ridiculous long limbs. louis rolls his head to the side and stares at the peripheral side of the other boy's face. harry's eyes and and the badge on his robe matches the colours of the grass, like the nature.

 

"maybe your eyes match the sky, or even the sea."

 

"what?" louis says, alarmed. _did he say that out loud?_

 

"you're thinking out loud," harry answers the unasked question. he turns around and and props up his head on an elbow, looking down at louis.

 

louis takes out his wand again and places it upon harry's. he moves the shaft of the stick along harry's, as if it's a soothing motion, caressing each other. peach-pink light sparkles out of the tip of both wands.

 

"seems like they bond quite well, don't they now?"

  
"you're talking as if they're pets." harry replies.

  
louis smiles and didn't say anything afterwards. a while later , louis moves his head onto harry's thighs, so that they makes a T shape.

 

"you said you don't usually have anywhere to go during holidays, is it still true for the coming one?" harry asks out of the blue.

 

"yeah, why do you ask?"

 

"well, i'm thinking, whether you'd like to come to mine for a bit this year," harry says, barely above a whisper, "you don't have to, of course, only if you want."

 

"you're inviting me to come with you for the summer?!" louis exclaims, shocked.

 

"well, yes but only if you — "

 

"yes! of course i'll come! you have no idea how boring it is to be stuck alone at the castle for two whole months." he shouts, adding a cheery giggle at the end.

 

"good! that's settled then. thank you so much for agreeing to this," there is a sign of slight relief in harry's voice, "i'm certain my family will like you, as much as i like you. not sure 'bout zain though, he tends to be very protective to me." he pauses, "they will ask you a lot of questions though, that's for sure. i apologize in advance."

 

"nah it's okay," louis says, still giddy, "i like it when people want to get to know me."

 

"well, at least this year it won't be me receiving all the annoying questions about when will i get a boyfriend or girlfriend." harry mutters to himself under his breath, so low that louis won't hear it.

 

louis did, though.

 

_⊱•⊰_

_iv._

_on the verge of his death_

_William rasps out, "Edward,_

_one day you're going to face revenge_

_your family will be damned because of you_

_i'll curse your family to its infinity_

_one day, my descendants will find your heir_

_they'll find, and kill him_

_the first son into your family_

_he'll be damned_

_our empire will end yours_

_for you ended mine_

_even if i took mine in lies"_

_⊱•⊰_

 

everyone pack their suitcases the next few days, getting ready for a trip to home. louis is very happy that he gets to pack this year too. he hopes harry's family would accept him in a friendly manner, and upon this, he wishes he could bring harry to his own parents one day.

 

they board the Hogwarts Express together and pile into the same cabin as liam and niall, having rounds and rounds of food fight with each other and making fun of the couple's possible sex adventure during the holiday. after they landed at the station, they say their farewells to the each other. harry and louis goes off together in the opposite direction. surprisingly harry chooses to drive a car to his hometown.

 

louis is excited to learn that harry's city is indeed a small town, with scenery quite similar to his own but feeling different. a few hours later with harry's exaggerated careful driving skills, they arrived at a little white two-story house with a front yard decorated patches of molies and snargaluff pods. it is already late into the evening.

 

the two of them load their suitcases out of the car and, walk towards the front port of the house. harry knocks on the greenish door and takes a step back. right when louis is about why harry knocked at his own door instead of just letting himself in, the door is opened abruptly by a man in his twenties. the man has a perfectly styled quiff dyed in white and roots darker than harry's, prominent cheekbones and a cigarette hanging from his mouth. he's wearing a crop top that perfectly outlines the curves of his abs.

 

the man's face lights up when he sees the two boys standing at the door, he pulls the cigarette from his mouth and goes in for a bear hug for harry. "hazza! i miss you so much!"

 

harry squeaks and awkwardly pat at the man's back, " _zainey_! i facetime you every week."

 

the man, _zain_ , pulls away with a low chuckle. then his eyes falls on louis. with a hard gaze, he scans the Gryffindor from head to toe, as if he's trying to figure out every single atom in his body, searching answers of his soul from his eyes. louis has to physically prevent himself from stiffening and instead, looking up without averting his eyes. but under such soul-deep stare, louis oddly find reminiscence in it with harry's.

 

at last, a small smile appears at the corner of zain's lips. "you must be louis then."

 

"yeah, louis tomlinson." louis replies, "and if i'm not mistaken, you're zain, harry's big brother, right?"

 

the smile on zain's face spreads wider, "the one and only."

 

he then turns his back towards them and motions for them to go into the house. louis turns to harry and sees the boy wearing a wide beam. harry throws a "thumbs-up" sign to louis and pulls him along into the house.

 

"zain approves." he leans in to whisper into his ear.

 

they go into the living room, and louis is once at awe at the nature-themed design of it. there are pots of plants and exotic flowers hung up on the wall, with a vase of rose and daisies complementing the dinner table.

 

"where's mom and yaser, zain?" harry asks, looking around when he can't see anyone else in the house.

 

"they've got something do in the department. but don't worry, it's not serious so they're probably be back before the week ends."

 

harry nods and zain goes on, "put all your stuffs in your room first, _hazza_. we can order take out later."

 

harry leads louis up the stairs, he shows him where the bathroom is then goes into his own room which is the first on the left of the corridor. they dump their suitcases at the corner as they figure they'll unpack after dinner. louis looks around the medium-sized room which is painted in baby blue, there are a few bands poster stuck on the wall.

 

("so...' _hazza_ '?" louis half-teasingly says.

 

"oh, _shut it_." is harry's reply.)

 

they walk down again and see zain on the phone. zain lifts the device a way a bit from his face and mouths "pizza okay?" when he sees the boys approach. harry and louis both nods enthusiastically at the suggestion.

 

they sit at the small round table and wait for the pizza to be delivered. zain hangs up with the supposed-pizza-place and comes around to sit next to harry. the pizza came not long after, zain goes to pay. louis is delighted that they ordered pineapple and ham pizza which is kind of his favourite.

 

luckily, zain hasn't bombarded him with waves of difficult question. he just made louis say his full name again and spends the rest of the time sending him curious glances. louis pretends there is no one staring at him and continues his casual chat with harry. they quickly finished dinner and zain announces he has to take a smoke, leaving harry and louis to their own.

 

they head up to the stairs after that, deciding to take their shower the next morning.

 

harry gestures to his bed, "well we have an extra set of beddings, but it's kinda late and would be a hassle to take it out. so if you don't mind..."

 

"do _you_ mind?" louis cuts him off, a soft smile making its way up his face.

 

"no i don't." if louis is not hallucinating, there is actually a faint shade of pink blooming up harry's cheeks.

 

they change into their pyjamas, harry is the first to hop into bed, followed by louis. the Slytherin holds the blankets up for him. louis grins and slides underneath it.

 

he turns to switch off the dim light that is emitting from the tiny bedside lamp, and just lies there flat, letting the darkness evolve, his fingers gently graze over the outlines that is harry's palm. after a beat of silence, harry turns over with a content hum, facing his back to louis. louis turns too so that his front is to harry's back and, despite the height difference, spooning the lad. eventually, he gives in and ducks his head into harry's mop of curls, burying his nose into the soft, thick locks, his arm gently placed over the dip of his waist.

 

“g’night, lou.”

 

louis chuckles, “g’night, hazza.”

 

and like that, they drift in together into a shared dream.

 

the next morning, when louis wakes up, his head is is on top of a side harry’s chest, mushed against the collarbones. harry has one arm wrapped around the back of his neck, successfully pulling him so close that he can't really move. louis’ palm that is gently placed above harry’s stomach rises and falls rhythmically to harry’s breathing.

 

he looks up from his fixed position to peers at harry’s peaceful sleeping face, his eyes trace over the pair of full and a bit of chapped lips, up past the small patch of hidden freckles across his nose, to the eyelashes that are even a little curled. he doesn’t really why he’s staring, it seems like he’s transfixed by the beautiful, almost flawless looks. yes, they’re perfectly-constructed, at least to him.

 

he would savour this, but his bladder is really killing him, so he has no choice but to attempt to untangle himself from the bundle that is harry’s ridiculous long limbs. he carefully slips from the tight cuddle and pushes himself up, before scrambling to the bathroom. he takes a quick glance at the clock on his way out, it’s already past noon, of course his bladder is blasting and his stomach is eating itself.

 

he quickly finds his relief in the toilet, fixes him tousled hair, then lets himself into the kitchen downstairs for a glass of water.

 

"oh, you're up."

 

a voice says behind louis. the boy, who is not expecting any of this, jumps up in startle and nearly dropping the mug he is holding in both of his hands. he whips around and sees a fully dressed zain carrying a briefcase.

 

"oh, uh, h-hi zain. good morning." he stammers out.

 

"indeed, a good morning, louis." zain replies, looking down at his bag.

 

"ah, going to work?"

 

zain hums in reply, "yeah, urgent call."

 

"w-where do you work?" why does he have to keep stuttering? it's just harry's big brother, nothing scary.

 

"i'm a physiotherapist at st. mungo's." he says, a proud glint in his eyes.

 

"my, um, parents work there too."

 

"so i've heard. tomlinson." that's all what zain says, before he takes a step closer to the counter top to drop down his briefcase. he then take another step closer to louis, slowly inching towards him. he is using his searching-gaze again.

 

louis takes a step back, alarmed, so that his back is almost sticking to the wall. he looks up at zain, who is apparently taller than him by inches. _(what the fuck does the kids in this family feed on?)_ "w-what do you want?"

 

"oh, it's not what i want," the taller figure sighs deeply, "it's what you should do."

 

right now, a million of worst scenarios are going through louis' mind, as he thinks of another million of ways to get out of this. however, what comes out of zain's mouth is certainly not what he expects.

 

"harry is really precious to me, y'know. but he's now all grown up and i'm going out to live with my fiancé very soon, i can't really be the big brother all the time and protects him from every thing. especially now that he'll always be away from home and see? even got a boyfriend."

 

louis physically relaxes by a whole fraction when he realizes it's just the big brother talk. but then heat flies up to his face when he hears the taboo word "boyfriend".

 

"no! we're not...not yet!"

 

"the gross way you look at each other...do you think i don't have eyes?" and before louis could protest, he continues, "now where were we?–yes– tomlinson. are you the descendent of the once vibrant Pucketpeas Empire? or whatever they call themselves. descendants of King William?"

 

"the _Bumblebees_." louis automatically corrects, "wait. how do you know? it was even before our headmasters were born. i thought we — "

 

"you thought you keep it low-key, didn't you?" zain finishes it with a sassily-raised eyebrow, "yes you may do. but i have my ways, _tomlinson_ , and i did do some research on you."

 

louis narrows his eyes in suspicion, "what else do you know about me? and what does it have to do with me anyways? just because i'm the descendant it doesn't have anything to do with me and harry, right?"

 

"i know enough, but that's only for my reference." zain pieces louis with a glance again, "well, normally it doesn't. but who knows what would come up in our lives? however just so you know, _if you —_ "

 

louis stiffens.

 

"if you ever ever did any harm towards my baby brother, i'll personally find you and end you as well as your empire." he threatens.

 

louis' jaw falls open in surprise, but before he could utter out any words of confusion, he already finds an arm being flung over his shoulders. he looks up to see a pretty face.

 

"zain," harry lets out in whiny voice, "stop stealing my boy."

 

zain takes a large step back he sees his brother, a warm snails gradually spreading out onto his face, "we're actually done now, just having a lil' talk with him."

 

"good." harry juts out his bottom lips a bit, frowning in his still-sleepy state. he leans in to slur into louis' ears, "missed you in bed."

 

louis giggles quietly at that. harry shifts his attention back to zain, noticing his briefcase that is placed on the table. he gestures at it.

 

"i thought you're not going to work in the holidays?"

 

"sorry boys. urgent call. a boy who grew pumpkins for legs is getting it cured today."

 

harry nods and pulls louis along with him, going back to his room.

 

"didn't realize you were up already." louis starts when they're on the stairs.

 

"i was up for quite a bit, just don't wanna get up, y'know. but then i heard zain's voice and thought he was giving you trouble — is he bothering you?"

 

"no, it's okay. but your brother can be very confusing sometimes."

 

"yeah," harry replies, closing the door to his room, "he's always like that. just ignore him. he just really loves me too much."

 

unlike harry, louis didn't sit on the bed. he walk towards the desk and takes a swift glance at all the picture frames that are propped up on it, some stuck to the wall. he scans at the faces of the people in them, while some wave at him.

 

"oh, yeah. those are my family photos. mom made me put them all there," harry explains behind louis. he stands up and walks towards the desk too. the pictures range from black and white to brownish, then to colourful and bright.

 

"your family...has quite an old history."

 

"i...guess you could say that." harry closes the distance between him and louis' body, pointing at a woman who appears in the oldest-looking, black and white picture on the left, "this is my mother, anne."

 

the shorter boy's eyes swipes across the galleries of pictures. he spots the same face in many of them, and somehow the woman doesn’t seem to age. her faces in the coloured photos are almost the same as they were in the black and whites.

 

“she met dad and then she had me,” harry continues, pointing at a toddler with dark blonde hair who is squirming in anne’s arms, with another man- who louis assumes is harry’s dad- on their side, “that’s me.”

 

“you’re cute.”

 

“thanks,” harry bites at his bottom lip at the compliment, dimples showing. he picks up the first picture frame on the table, “then mom remarried not long after having me. then yaser, zain’s dad came into the picture, he already had zain with his ex-girlfriend at that time. i remember i’d always wanted an older brother, so i was thrilled when i met him.”

 

louis looks to the photo. young harry is apparently a bit bigger now, hugging a much taller boy with black spiky hair. zain looks almost adult, while the man beside anne changed to another face.

 

“why did your mother remarry? i supposed you were still very little at that time.” louis wonders out loud, then pauses, “wait, you don’t have to answer that if it’s too private.”

 

“well it’s not really one of the family secrets of mine, i may tell you one day anyways. it’s just not something we tell everyone on the street.”

 

“what, you have many family secrets?” louis jokes, putting down the frame he has in his hands.

 

the other boy just rolls his eyes. he motions louis to come nearer and pulls him down onto the bed along with himself. “let’s sit, i’ll tell you.”

 

he stares down at his lap for a while, keeping quiet as he plays with the hem of his shirt. louis sits down on the left of him, waiting patiently for him to speak first.

 

“it’s not a secret,” harry repeats, “it’s just, i’ve never really told anyone about this because everyone in my community all knew it from the start-uh- i’ll start from the beginning since it’s hard to understand if you don’t know the background, um.”

 

louis nods in understanding and offers a warm smile, gesturing for him to go on.

 

the boy returns it, beginning, “did you notice there is something special about my mother?”

 

“beside the fact that she looks the same age in every one of the photos?”

 

“that’s the exactly the point, lou.” harry states, looking up, “but she doesn’t just look the same, instead the fact is...she really doesn’t age.”

 

“w-what do you mean?” louis asks hesitantly, unsure of where harry is going on with this.

 

“well, you see, our family is _different_ , we’re not like the others. we come from another breed, just like the werewolves, veelas, centaurs and such. we’re very different.” harry says.

 

“you don’t seem like any of those, though you could pass off as a veela with those looks.” louis speaks in a soft voice, as if any louder would break the secret, “niall..niall once told me your aura is red.”

 

“maybe.” harry utters. louis could hear him swallow hard, “you should be the veela one in us.”

 

“so, haz?” harry looks at him again.

 

“yeah?”

 

“what are you?”

 

harry peers into those blue eyes that are a tad widened. he sighs deeply and places his palm onto louis’. louis scoots closer.

 

“don’t freak out.” he breathes in sharply, “ _i’m a vampire._ ”

 

louis freezes, he feels as if every hair on his skin stands up on their own. he half-suspects this, since there aren’t really much other breeds in the wizarding world. he knew vampires are the rarest, but not outcast. he knew veelas are the most common., but not most lovely. he knew the meaning of red aura, just like blue means werewolf silver means veela gold mean super magic. but hearing harry confessing this in person, is still a big blow to the head.

 

harry is staring straight into his eyes, emerald orbs blown wide in anxiety like he’s seen a  ghost. he too is holding his breath. louis can feel in palm in his hands getting sweatier as seconds pass. but his own mind is too blank to make a response. so, he just squeezes those palms a little tighter.

 

but the other boy pulls them back. his gaze drops from louis’ as he whips them away. he brings his hands to his face, covering his eyes.

 

“ _oh_.” he whispers, voice cracking a bit, “no. _no_. don’t say anything.”

 

this snaps louis out of his stupid trance. he immediately flings one of his arms around harry’s torso as fast as he can, finding the boy’s shoulders tense; his other hand flying up in an attempt to pry the larger ones that is blocking the face.

 

“harry…” he begins in a soft tone.

 

but harry must have mistaken it as a miserable one, because once louis speaks he shakes again, “don’t. just forget anything i ever said. should’ve known.”

 

but louis’ not having it, “ _no_. haz, relax. it’s okay. it’s not like- being a vampire is nothing different from being a veela. it’s not even in any way different from being an average witch.”

 

the boy stills in louis’ arms. louis lets out a small breath of relief. harry lowers his hands slightly from his eyes, peeking up at louis from between the gaps of his fingers.

 

“you, you mean that?” he squeaks out.

 

louis’ voice falters out like a chuckle, “yes. of course. merlin, stop worrying. i’m not, in any way, mad or disgusted. i’m just a tad surprised.”

 

“you...sure?” harry puts down both of his hands completely, still hesitant, “just surprised?”

 

“yeah, very sure.” louis shoots a beam to harry in order to cheer him up, noticing how the boy’s lips are gnawed red, “i’m sorry for scaring you.”

 

harry’s hands find louis’ again, “i just haven't told anyone this before, people either assumed or knew it from the start.”

 

“it’s okay,” louis asures again. he searches at harry’s features before sighing, opening his arms for the boy, “come on. you need some comfort, i know.”

 

harry giggles, _fucking giggles_ , then throws himself into the welcoming arms. he snuggles his way up, so that his head is tucked right under louis’ chin.

 

“y’know, i thought you would flip out or yell at me or leave.”

 

“ _y’know_ , i’d never do that, no matter what you are. even if you’re one of the undercovers sent from the prime minister i won’t get mad at you.”

 

that gets a laugh out of harry. “i’m not, trust me. i won’t lie to you.”

 

“i know.”

 

louis cups the back of harry’s head, playing at the baby hair there. harry hums happily in content and manages to slip his arms around louis’ waist, squeezing tightly.

 

“thank you.” he looks up in the most sincere way possible, louis is ready to melt away under those gaze.

 

“no problem, i don’t judge anyone.”

 

the taller boy slowly leans back from the tight cuddle, yet still keeping his face close to louis’. the latter watches him pull away. thier foreheads almost touch, louis can feel the ghost of hot breaths let out by harry. his lips are slightly agape, revealing the tips of his teeth. there is faint tint of pink to his cheeks, which louis finds very intriguing.

 

“you know what — ” harry’s voice is out of breath, “fuck this.”

 

the next thing he knows, is that there is a pair of soft lips crashed into his own. louis makes a surprised moan, but he shuts his eyes tightly and puckers his lips out, eager to return the kiss. harry gasps softly and opens his mouth, sticking his tongue out and swipes it across the other boy’s bottom lips. louis allows it to invade the inside of his mouth completely, not even trying to take over, himself sucking gently at harry’s lips. harry raises their still-intertwined palms above their shoulders and applies force on it, successfully pushing louis down onto the bed, hovering over the smaller boy.

 

louis pulls away to catch a breath and snaps open his eyes. he gasps again, a shivering going down his back as he sees the look on harry’s face. it's almost as if the green eyes are blazed with fire. he quickly ducks in to attach his lips with harry’s, locking their tongues again. harry’s hands didn’t go anywhere, staying clutched by louis, and he likes that, likes the intimacy it brings. he melts right there and then.

 

harry breaks the contact first, as louis is lying there immobile, too shocked to move. he climbs over louis’ torso and lays down beside him.

 

louis’ fingers shoots up to touch at his lips, probably red and puffy now, tingling yet to the fiery touch.

 

“whoa,” he pants, “that. that was amazing.”

 

harry rolls over to face him, “ _you’re_ amazing.”

 

louis’ reaches out blindly to lace his fingers with the boy beside him. he clears his throat a bit, “so, um, tell me about you guys. like, do you really feed on blood?”  
  


“well — yes. yes, we do.” harry admits, “but we don't, at least i don’t, drink human blood or unicorn blood. we just consume on sheeps and other animals.”

 

“okay...but you still eat normal food?”

 

“blood is only for keeping us strong. plus i have my supply sent to me regularly so i don't really crave it. but i still need normal food, i’m a growing teenager after all.”

 

“wait. if your mom doesn’t age at all, why do you grow? aren’t you all vampires?”

 

harry chortles quietly, “it’s actually just a legend that we vampires are born immortal, we’re in fact not. it’s all about some very very very advanced and dark magic. it is performed to each one of us when we’re still an infant, to stop our growing once we hit adulthood. of course, you could choose not to do it if you really don’t want to, and they will give you an antidote for it. there is a lot of details to the effect of this magic, i forget most of them but they’re all written in a book. i once heard my great grandpa said that this spell is invented because a long time ago there were very little vampires since most of them are misunderstood and hunt down, so they did this to preserve our kind.”

 

he sighs when he finished explaining. louis quips, “is that why the vampires are so secretive, even now? because they don’t wanna get hurt anymore?”

 

“one of the reasons that we still keep doing the immortal tradition,” harry concludes, “i guess we’re just protecting ourselves. aha, now that it’s not coincidence why nearly everyone in our community got placed in Slytherin if we ever went to Hogwarts, our traits is in our nature and upbringing.”

 

“what about if a non-vampire gets bitten? is it like when a non-werewolf get bit?” louis questions.

 

“basically it’s similar. i remember one of the rules of the immortal spell says that if a non-vampire gets bitten by an immortal vampire, growing or not, they will also be passed on the condition. they’ll get turned into one too, no cure. the immortality will pass on too, though there will be no antidote for this even if you're not yet in adulthood when you get bit."

 

he goes on, "this actually has something to do with why mom and dad didn't work out."

 

"good. we're finally back to our original topic."

 

harry waves it off, "mom was born a vampire, just like me. she decided to live as an immortal when she reached her age, i think she hung around for at least half a decade before meeting des, my biological dad. des knew mom is a vampire and mom knew he is not, she also she also knew des is those people who never want to settle down, yet they still got together and had me. mom thought she could change dad and make him stay for her, but turned out you couldn't really change a man. dad kept avoiding the subject of having a forever with mom, he said mom and i are not worth it enough for him to sacrifice his life, his fun and vibrant life of playing around."

 

he pauses, but louis stays quiet as he feels harry would want to continue. and the lad did, "if a person can't even sacrifice such small things for the love of his life and his own son, there isn't really any point turning him into a vampire. it takes two to tango, and soon mom realized des wasn't the man meant for her, so she left him with me when i was around two. a few years later she got together with yaser, who is also a vampire and with a similar experience as us, only that zain was already 10."

 

harry looks down after the mini-confession about his family. louis flips over too, with a hand still connected with harry's, and tangles his legs up with the young vampire's. he raises his free hand, and, hesitantly pats at the bouncy curls atop the lad's head. the burning question is out of his mouth before he could register.

 

"would you keep living as an immortal when you're of age?"

 

the Gryffindor boy reckons the other would be quite surprised when prompted the question, but harry just looks up with a little frown between his eyebrows. he proceeds to slip an arm over louis' waist, lingering at the dip leading to his bum.

 

"i think the idea of it suits with me, i want to do it coz it's like, our thing. but i guess i'll just let it be, because you can't be sure what would happen in life, right?"

 

"yeah, i guess so," louis mumbles in reply, unsure of what he should say.

 

"we're in quite a compromising position." he remarks, eyes travelling up and down him and harry's tangled limbs.

 

"it feels comfy here with you though." harry blurts, yet smooth. louis blushes softly at that.

 

"look, um..." the curly-haired lad brings up, "it might be very weird as it sounds but, i really really like you. i know we — we've only met each other for a few short months and i know this might be too quick for us to go anywhere. but, i-i really feel a connection to you and i really like you. like, just now when i kissed you you kissed right back, so i hope i didn't get this the wrong way round. so uh, would you like to be my boyfriend?"

 

harry heaves out when he's finished his rushed ramble, trying to gauge at louis' reaction with these big green innocent eyes and bottom lip held in a bit by his teeth.

 

"technically that was a snog, not a kiss." louis says, trying his hardest to suppress the chuckle that is ready to bubble out of his throat when he sees harry's horrified expression.

 

the lad shuts his agape mouth and turns it into a pout, he slaps his palm over louis' bum and louis finally cackles loudly. "ow, okay okay," — his cheeks are heating up — "don't be silly haz, _of course_ i'd be your boyfriend coz i like you quite a lot too."

 

despite the grin lighting up on his face, harry hits louis' bum again, "you prick, just say it. haven't i been frightened to death enough for these mere few hours?"

 

"merlin's, i'm sorry babe, just thought it'd be fun seeing you all worked up and flustered." louis attempts to hold up his arms in defence, "sorry, i like you like you like you quite a lot too."

 

"that's my good boy." harry stops to pucker his lips again, "can i get one more kiss?"

 

louis nearly coos at the cute sight, "of course." he leans in to peck atop the soft lips, which turns to another five-minutes snog.

 

"you're adorable." he murmurs against the pair of puffy lips as he pulls away from them.

 

"no," harry protests, "you're the adorable one. coz, y'know, gryffindor-able."

 

"you're a dork when you're not all this mysterious and smirky big Slytherin," louis retorts, "and i'm slytherin-ing in your bed."

 

the newly-dates looks at each other fondly for a moment then grins like a fool, louis sighing happily when he squeezes his boyfriend's — as he can officially call now — large hands.

 

⊱•⊰

 

_v._

_for years onwards no one knows_

_the true story behind the once vibrant_

_bond behind the two races_

_or who's the real one at fault_

_but it doesn't matter_

_what's done and can't be undone_

_for a long time the witch and vampire_

_live among each other in peace_

_for the remaining royalty keep em_

_all in a layer of white lies_

_but one day_

_this will all burst_

_and if it does_

_it will be fate_

 

⊱•⊰  
  


 

louis is called to the headmaster's office.

 

he doesn't really know what for, he racks his brain for any memories of anything he's done extraordinary right, or even extremely wrong. (like, he didn't break anything else beside a pot of mandrake in year two, right?) but he couldn't find any. so he stops at his tracks when he sees his parents, _both_ of his parents as well as _both_ of his headmasters, gathered inside the room. now he really doesn't know what's going on.

 

"mom? dad? why are you here?" he starts hesitantly, lest anything disastrous is going to happen on him. but his partners just smile warmly at him.

 

"good to see you here again, mr. tomlinson." scorpius malfoy suddenly appears, and says to his right.

 

"good evenings, Professor Malfoy. um, is there anything wrong?" louis asks again.

 

"you might want to sit down when we tell you this," albus potter, who was exiting the book on the shelves against the wall, turns around and informs him.

 

the other headmaster approaches his husband as louis sits down on a chair. his father sits down beside him too, but his mother stands. "there isn't anything you've done wrong, so relax. there also isn't anything wrong with the thing here per se, but this is –tsk– a bit of trouble. um, mrs. tomlinson, would you like to start?"

 

louis looks to his mother, jay. jay is wearing one of the warmest smile on her face, as she returns the look with genuine sincerity.

 

"louis," louis nods, "do you remember the story i always told you when you were little? about the witch and the vampire?"

 

"yeah of course," louis made an affirmative sound, "the one about the legend of my whatever-grandpa, King William, right? but isn't that just a fairy tale for kids to fall asleep?"

 

"it could be," his dad speaks, "but it isn't all to the story. we told you the story all over and over again for a purpose, which would come in handy now. in fact, there is something we hide from you since your birth."

 

hearing upon that, it is like a lightning strike has just burned a hole in his heart. louis gasps — _his own parents hiding something from him?_ — his voice faltering slightly, "what didn't you tell me?"

 

his mother places both of her hands atop louis' shoulders, and stares at him into his eyes. jay has the same blue eyes as him, only a bit darker in shade. louis sees his own reflection. "son, we only did this to protect your innocence. if this didn't happen, we won't be telling you the secret, ever. your gran only told me right before she past."

 

"now, you know what the entire story is about right?" mr. tomlinson asks, to which louis hums in reply.

 

"yeah 'one day, my descendants will find your heir, they'll find, and kill him, the first son into your family.' " he recites.

 

his father nods, "absolutely correct. you have quite a fair memory, son."

 

louis chuckles lightly.

 

the man explains, starting out slow, "the truth is, the last word that King William spoke, became a mission, or worse, a curse that runs through our family blood. all these years, your mom, your grandmother, your grandmother's sisters, their dad and moms, in short everyone in the family, had to bear this mission. we've waited for ages for the first son of the vampire royalty to be born, we don't know what kind of inexplicable magic they casted again, but somehow there hasn't been a son all these decades.

 

"however, lately, we noticed that there hasn't been much news coming out of them, and we grew suspicious. so after a long time of searching, we came to the discovery that the first son has already been born, years even. he's seventeen, young and strong, 's been trained well from a very young age and taught some much advanced magic. but that's all we know, they've really been keeping him a secret."

 

jay continues the sentence, "once we get hold of these information, despite being at st. mungo's, we decide to tell you as soon as possible. it's not our right to keep this from you, and you need the mental preparation too."

 

louis sucks in a deep breath. sure, he knows about the legend of his great-great-whatever grandfather, knows it by heart all his life; but no, he didn't expect it to be real, to be this real that it became a "mission" he has to complete. it's 2015 now, not 1989, twitter wars should exist, not a mission of a warrior. not much people care about the vampire royalty anymore, even though they kind of took over King William, and louis is not sure if there is still anyone beside his family cares enough to know about the wizard royalty, even he _himself_ only remembers his "prince" identity on his birthday when every single of his relatives attends the party at the Tomlinson Manor. he's 17 and he loves green beans, and _for fuck's sake_ that's the even same age as the vampire prince, now he has to fulfil a family mission for a mere grudge of his long past grandfather for a long gone empire?

 

"what do i have to do?"

 

"simple, kill him."

 

" _kill him?_ " louis exclaims and nearly falls off the chair, "what the hell? i have to actually kill him? i thought that was just a metaphorical representation!"

 

"there's no myth, louis, and no any sort of metaphorical representation. we're not joking, or what else do you think is so important that got me and your father, both of us out of st. mungo's. of course this is real, this is a life mission." jay announces.

 

"b-but," louis stumbles out, "how to you suppose me to do this? the vampire prince, or whatever he is, is the same age as me, we're just school boys. i don't even know who or where he is."

 

"that's why we're telling you now, son," his father sighs, "we are giving you preparation. of course we're not asking you to kill him right away and we won't take you out of Hogwarts and gives you trainings, at least not until you've finished school. right now we’ve only got a name but nothing about his whereabouts. so after that, all you had to do, and all you should do, is to try to dig this vampire prince out and complete your mission, you could be any hero you want. "

 

louis' stomach is churning in his insides, like he's just missed a step on the staircase. he doesn't understand, this isn't fair. he was happily studying at his school, with his wonderful circle of friends and his simple life. now he's just been informed that these all has to be cut short, and that his future will be none other than being a blind knight of the family killing a guy he would never know of? what if...

 

"what if he's a good guy?" he says out loud, "what if he's nothing like his great-great-whatever grandfather? he's someone we barely know, or maybe he doesn't even know his family history, then we would be killing a innocent person. i — _i'll_ be that ruthless killer."

 

"but we never know. maybe he knows it all and will be trying all means to prevent his own death," his parents retorts, "hey, maybe he'll even reach you first. it was supposed to be their revenge after all."

 

"why do we have do this though? he doesn't have to be like his ancestors, just like i'm nowhere like King William." louis attempts.

 

but, "these are all written in the stars," jay tomlinson says, "even in books that they sell off as fairy tales. it's your time and the opportunity is coming right in front of you. so why don't you just take it and end all the troubles it's been causing us all the years?"

 

"i just don't wanna kill someone innocent. i don't wanna spend all my life finding one person, and finding out he should never be killed." the young boy hesitates.

 

"we’ll never know for sure. yes, maybe they’re innocent, yet their hearts can also be filled with revenge. what needs to be done have to be done."

 

"but what if what have to be done is not what should be done?" louis pauses, as a thought pops up on his mind, "there isn't any consequences if i don't complete this, right?"

 

"then it'll be passed off to your descendants," jay reminds him immediately, "your gran only has one daughter and we only have you. your father and i are too old to do it, you're the best chance we've got. besides he's born right in your generation, so why don't you do it?"

 

his father sighs heavily through his nose, "it's called a curse for a purpose. even if you decide to leave it, it will catch up to you. it's in your fate, no matter if you want or not. the problem now is that we never know if we’ll ever be entirely safe, they may be planning their mission to kill you before you could kill their son. it’s, after all, a matter between our empires."

 

louis furrows his brows — all these explanation are causing a headache on him. he doesn't mind being the warrior, but this feels _wrong_ to him. he cannot even hate somebody he has never known of, let alone _killing_ them. just because King William is killed for a secret he stole, doesn’t mean louis and this vampire prince have to be destined to be at each other’s throat. the curse is not fair to both of the royalties. why does his life choices have to be made by someone who by now has almost none blood relations to?

 

his shoulders sag and he looks down at his lap, at the wrinkled hands that are his father’s, if he looks up he knows he’d see a weathered face that is his mother’s. he knows, if anyone had to complete this mission it has to be him, and it has to be quick because for all he knows he might be in danger too. he can’t leave it to his offsprings, he doesn't even know if he’d like any.

 

"well well," the teenager eventually looks up when he hears his headmaster speaks, "let the boy consider it on his own, shall we? it’s kind of late already anyways."

 

louis has never been so thankful for his teachers before, but right now he could really use a break to _fucking_ think.

 

his parents nod in agreement, "yeah, we should probably." they look in his way again, "we know it’s heavy on you, louis, but you really have to ponder this clearly. right now they don't know we’re taking action, so it’s best for us to prepare you as soon as possible."

 

louis heaves out lowly again in distress. tonight has confused him so much.

 

Professor Potter walks towards his parents, "mr and mrs tomlinson, i believe it's almost passed the students' bedtime _(it's still 7pm)_ and light is gonna be out _(doesn't even exist)_ very soon. uh, i suspect both of you still have duties tomorrow morning?"

 

he has made it clear, so jay and her husband both confirms curtly. they claim that they only sneak out between their shifts and re-insist that louis has to think thoroughly. they told him that if he has any difficulties, he should feel free to seek help from both the headmasters. eventually, they leave through floo network from the fireplace.

 

louis looks to the two old men, he shouldn't be saying this, but the words are out of his mouth already, "i thought when – when i next see mom and dad, we'll be talking about how i got a boyfriend, instead of how i should kill a person."

 

"ah ah, let me guess. this person is mr. styles, innit?"

 

a blush comes up to shadow over louis' cheeks, "yes, you're right, Professor."

 

"despite everything, i'm glad you and him could turn out this way," sighing, Professor Malfoy puts a hand on his shoulder, "this isn't our place to tell you what to do, louis, it should be your decision to make. but just follow your heart,"

 

Albus Potter comes to stand beside them after he's performers a spell at the fireplace to close the connection, "and everything would turn out fine."

 

louis looks to the fireplace, as if his parents' remains were still here. a surge of bitter rushes up his throat, creating an unbearable lump there.

 

what is his goals in life? louis doesn't know yet. he's seventeen and he really wishes to spend the remaining years he has in school to live carefree and happy, he doesn't want to worry about life quite yet, he knows once he's grown up he'll have to take full responsibility of adulthood on his own, he knows he'll have no one to depend on except the few true friends he has, he knows he has to take all the troubles up on his shoulders. he wants, he really wants to have his goals and dreams and directions all printed out in a sheet of paper and follows it like treasure map, like some of his schoolmates. but he can't. no matter how hard he try he can't. he doesn't want to think yet, he doesn't want to waste his days and happiness away by blindly chasing after stupid rules and paths people have chosen for him, or rather, people have expected him to do. he should be a free bird without its cage, a ship that follows no map, he should be able to take breaks and maybe re-consider his life decisions. he should have a life he deserves, and live in a way that he thinks is good for himself. no one should have the right to push him and tries to morph him into something he isn't.

 

"i – i should go now Professors," he stammers out.

 

albus and scorpius nod quietly, gesturing that he's free to go. louis mumbles a quick thank you to his teachers and stands up, nearly dashing for the door.

 

he was thinking of running back to his bed, or the library, whatever — some place he could think, or better, not think. he was ready to turn around, but it's destiny that makes him halt his steps when he hears a little noise coming out from behind the doors.

 

now he really shouldn't do this, but he has to, since he has this big feeling that Professor Potter and Malfoy would be talking about him. carefully, he creeps back to where he came out from, pressing his ear to the wood. luckily, it seems like the headmasters didn't put a silencio up the room, and hopefully there will be no one passing by.

 

"do you think we should tell the boy?" the voices are muffled but louis can still distinct them.

 

"no, what should happen would happen anyways. let it be. let them work it out naturally, maybe things could be better that way."

 

"but it's life and death, al."

 

"what haven't we seen? we've come through a lot. hell, even our parents have come through a lot. sometimes we should let the kids fight their own battles."

 

"you always have a way, potter. true, i see they're both very strong, we just need to be brave and have faith."

 

"well you weren't any better, malfoy, with that smart mouth of yours. fate has its own ways, i believe, do you remember that christmas in fifth year that we set up our families together..."

 

louis thinks he's already heard enough, so he scurries away before anyone could catch him.

 

louis runs, while as he thinks, he really can't think of anything. it has been frustrating — knowing that his parents basically force him into a fate that he can do nothing but to do as they say. he cannot escape this destiny, unless he wants to put his own parents as killers. this mission, a curse, is regenerated throughout all the generations, now it has finally landed on him. how he wishes he could blame his parents, but he can’t. the only one he could cast the fault on is his great-great-whatever grandfather and his stupid curse. now he can only accept this, and it will haunt him forever, not to mention there might be someone constantly planning to kill him too.

 

as every steps down the stairs he takes, he thinks, like a stab into his own heart, footsteps get heavier, his breaths get shorter, tear spills out his eyes before he could stop them.

 

he doesn’t bother wiping them away, hell, he doesn't even know why he is crying. he runs down whatever stairs he could find, only wanting a place to hide. his train of blank thoughts are eventually disrupted by a feeling that he is bumped by a soft object. he doesn’t dare look up, he could see the end of a robe, it must be one of the students.

 

louis mentally groans, "sorry! please, excuse me, i’m so sorry."

 

"louis?" a deep voice speaks.

 

 _oh crap._ louis whips his head up and he’s immediately met by a pair of luring, mossy green eyes that he half craves and half want to avoid at the same time. another stab to his heart.

 

"harry." his voice comes out as a mere whisper, more like a whimper.

 

"shit. um, are you okay? what’s wrong?" harry’s eyebrows are drawn together, as he attempts to catch the tears from his boyfriend’s cheeks with his thumb. they keep falling anyways.

 

if louis says anything, he’s afraid his voice will crack in the middle. so, instead, he just shakes his head helplessly at the person standing in front of him. he’s suddenly feeling so hot. harry heaves a sigh mixed of worry and confusion, nonetheless, he uses an arm to pull louis’ body closer to his, letting the shorter boy cry into his robe.

 

"let’s go back to my dorm, m’kay? let’s get you calmed down first." harry murmurs in the softest voice he can manage, as he doesn’t want to startle the boy anymore. they’re standing in the middle of a hallway, he was originally going to the bathroom, but those can all wait, he can’t stand seeing his boy upset without knowing the reason at all.

 

he feels louis nods numbly into his chest, so he starts pushing his boyfriend out of their embrace, only to wrap a hand around the latter’s waist in order to guide them back to his dorm. louis is trying his hardest to muffle his hiccups, not wanting to attract too much attention.

 

they go back to the Slytherin homeroom _(the password, as louis finally discovered, is a series of hissing)_ and harry immediately leads the two of them to his own bed. the boy quickly takes off his robe then proceeds to help a still-violently crying louis do the same. then he sits at the middle of the bed, pulling louis along onto his lap.

 

louis squirms in harry’s lap to get comfortable, he ends up turning around straddling the other boy to get the most of his warmth, not that harry doesn’t like it though. he shoves his head back into the crook between harry’s neck and his shoulder blades, and cries into it, wetting the flesh. his body is still shaking, but it has reduced significantly under the comfort of his boyfriend comparing from 10 minutes ago. he feels strong arms that wrap around his whole body, and once in a blue moon he finds himself lucky to be so small, he feels so safe and cared in those arms and warm breath hitting his forehead. he clings as if his entire being depends on it, as he grips harry’s hip with his legs as tight as possible.

 

harry chews at the inside of his cheeks, while rubbing a soothing palm over the small of louis’ back, calming the lad down. his places his chin over the tousled caramel hair, whispering every endearments and pet terms he could rack his brain off. he goes as far as slipping a hand into the back of louis’ head, gently scratching at the soft hair that grows from his nape. though every choked sobs that escapes from louis’ lips, sends a blow to his heart.

 

it was a good half an hour, or more, before louis’ heart-wrenching sobs ceases to just sniffles. he doesn’t know why is he crying this much, but he just can’t stop. after a while, he slowly reaches up the arms that are smushed against harry’s front to weakly push himself out, in order to take a deep breath of oxygen which falters out as a hiccup. he furiously wipes at his eyes.

 

"shh, there we go, baby," quietly, as harry speaks. he pets at louis’ head and fixes his fringe, "are you feeling better?"

 

louis almost breaks down in tears again at the loving endearment, normally he wouldn’t, but everything just gets extra emotional when you’re crying and shit. so instead, he smiles a small smile and nods.

 

"great." harry is still speaking in the same soft voice.

 

louis lets out a wet chuckle, "i’m sorry for getting tears and snot all over you."

 

"nonsense," harry chuckles as well, "i’m more glad now that you’re at least not tearing up. since you’re feeling more okay, are you gonna tell me what happened that made you this upset?"

 

"well – um – okay. i guess i could tell you."

 

and like that, still sticking as close as he can in his boyfriend’s snuggle, he spills everything and anything to him, between occasional sniffs and hiccups. harry stays silent all through it, giving encouraging squeezes to his sides now and then. he stays silent after.

 

"i-i feel betrayed, mostly. it’s like i want to find someone to blame but can’t. i didn’t just come here to have this f-fucking big thing to be dumped on me, haz." he wheezes out, feeling tears pool at the corner of his eyes again, "i wish i could blame mom and dad, but i think they felt as betrayed as me when they discover this themselves too. unfair, especially dad."

 

"is that why you’re crying, love?" harry reaches out to wipe away a stray tear that managed to fall.

 

"i don't know, i just feel so...helpless" louis whispers.

 

"well, there’s nothing as who blames who in a family. family means support regardless of all. if, if i ever have a family in the future, there won’t be anyone’s faults." harry muses, "we’ll go through things together. i’ll go through this with you, lou. don't worry about it."

 

"okay." louis only replies.

 

a beat of silence as harry holds louis close. louis sits sideways on harry's lap with his head laid on the taller boy's chest again, letting his arms cradle his neck. "do you plan on telling any one of the guys?" harry sighs softly. louis knows immediately that he is referring to niall and liam.

 

"i'm not sure," still pouting a bit, he says.

 

harry notices. he leans down and swifts louis into a kiss, biting at the out-jutted lips until louis moans out quietly. the lips taste a bit like tears and they are so soft, raw and bitten. louis pushes them out weakly, trying to demand more. harry gives in and kisses him some more.

 

they break apart shortly after that. a small yawn escapes his lips, crying has sure exhausted him out. his eyelids suddenly feel heavy, but he doesn't want to break contact with the striking green ones.

 

he yawns again, "i don't wanna go back just yet."

 

"then stay here for the night." harry suggests.

 

louis raises an eyebrow at him, "it is allowed?"

 

"no but," harry pulls open the curtains that shields his bunk away from other and peeks outside, "they won't tell. i'm sure of that."

 

"okie then." the corner of louis' lips lifts into a lopsided grin. harry picks him up from his lap and pulls the covers out. he slips inside them and holds it open for louis to climb in.

 

louis re-attaches to his side almost at once. he finds harry's warm fingers under the blankets and tangles his owns with them.

 

"well i'm usually the little spoon, but i'll be the big tonight. just for you." harry mumbles against his hair.

 

"just f'me?" louis giggles, feelings as harry's protective arm snakes around his waist.

 

"yes, you, lou." louis closes his eyes.

 

"don’t think about it anymore tonight, let tomorrow do all the worrying." comes his boyfriend's deep silky voice, "let’s sleep."

 

_(in his room, albus potter spreads open the tattered map that he stole from his brother's desk which was also originally stolen from his father's desk. he tap his wand onto the cover of the map and murmured a line of spell. the ink and shapes automatically appears on the blank weathered paper._

_almost instantly, his eyes follows the dot which reads louis Tomlinson, the movement is very rapid, indicating that the boy might be running. soon, he sees another dot that reads harry Styles coming slowly in louis' direction. a fire of hope lights up in his heart._

_as the old man expected, the louis dot comes into a halt when it is abruptly stopped by the opposite dot. they stayed there for a while before the harry dot walks away, louis walking behind him. he could see that the students are heading towards the tower where Slytherin homeroom is situated._

_albus taps on another cover of the map, revealing the inside of the Slytherin bunk. he sees both harry and louis climbs up on harry's bed. the two boys stay there for a long while. it seems that the Gryffindor won't be going back to his own common room until the morning, therefore eventually, albus closes the map with another murmur and goes join his own husband in bed._

_of course he won't punish the boys for sneaking, he's the headmaster and Head of Slytherin House, after all.)_

 

the next day is a sunday, which means no classes for the whole day. louis wakes up to a slightly snoring harry, once again sprawled all over the sheets. he mumbles out a sleepy groan and pushes his head deep into harry's chest, letting it block the blinding sunshine.

 

harry stirs about two minutes later, too quick for louis' likings. nevertheless, the woke boy sits up and stares down at his boyfriend. he smiles when he sees the fuzzy curls are shielding harry's face, so he reaches up, brushing them away for him. he is immensely grateful for what the Slytherin did for him the night before. his mind was too crowded and he can't think straight, crying and getting all his mucus on the boy's shirt. but harry didn't mind a bit, he calms louis and talks it through it, telling him that it's his job and that he can't stand seeing his boyfriend miserable.

 

harry lifts up his heavy eyelids. when his gaze finally fixed on louis, he beams up toothlessly to him. louis leans down to press a kiss on harry's dry lips, lingering there and not moving, until harry whines out because of the lack of oxygen.

 

"good morning, love." louis speaks against the wetted lips and finally moves away.

 

"you have morning breath." harry complains softly, jutting his bottom lips out slightly.

 

louis laughs at him and pulls his upper body away from the mattress. they quickly change into their respective robes and goes down for a quick fresh-up in the bathroom.

 

it is nearly noon so the both boys agree simultaneously that they would skip breakfast and go straight for the lunch later. "so what do you wanna do today? it's sunday and i'm all free." harry asks when he's making the bed, louis standing beside him.

 

"my homework is done so i'm all free too." louis replies with a smile on his face, "well, didn't you say you want to go try out for Quidditch? we could practice today. i'd ride with you."

 

"that's a great idea, lou, we could have fun! try-outs are in a week's time anyways." harry glances out the window, then grimaces at the sunlight, "maybe not now though. don't wanna get burned under the sun."

 

"you're correct, so maybe in the evenings," louis leans in to press a peck to harry's cheeks again, "we could go to the library?"

 

"sure," the latter says, "but why?"

 

"remember what i told you about my mother used to read the story of my ancestor out of a book? i suppose if that is from a children's book sold in bookstores, there must be more out there, so maybe we could try the library and see if we could find anything,' louis reasons out, "you coming with me?"

 

"of course," the Slytherin hums in understanding, "i said i'll support you all through this."

 

"well then let's go." louis sticks out a hand, with which harry automatically laces his fingers.

 

at the library they immediately spot a head of white blinded percent up on one of the desks. like they've expected.

 

"hey lovebirds," niall greets them with a nonchalant wave, "your ties are mismatched."

 

"what?! really?" louis exclaims and jumps up, whipping his head down to look at his collar, "i swear i took the right one."

 

"we aren't even in a hurry, oh fuck." harry, too, pulls open his robe to stare at his tie, at what is supposed to be his house colour, and finding out he indeed has his house colour on his chest.

 

louis looks up and sees that harry's tie not yellow like his and is green, just as it's supposed to be. his own cheeks are flushed, because – god – just how many schoolmates and teachers he might have walked past if they really mixed up their ties and people must imagine things.

 

"niall!" the couple turn around at the same time to niall's quiet cackling, "it isn't funny!"

 

niall points a finger between harry and louis, covering his mouth with the other hand and trying to stifle the giggles, "but the looks on your faces are priceless!"

 

louis huffs out in fake annoyance and turns to his boyfriend, "harry, ignore this lil leprechaun, let's go search for the things we need."

 

harry, whose tip of the ears are still beet red, merely nods and lets louis takes him away from the scene before the librarian could have a say in the mini fiasco they're causing. no, scratch that, what niall is causing. "should we start at the database?" harry asks.

 

louis nods in appreciation at the suggestion, "definitely. would save us many time."

 

they strolls away from their still-laughing friend and approaches the database, which looks like a mirror being hung up on the wall, near the shelves of the books. louis puts in "King William", which he thinks would be his best shot and waits patiently for the search results.

 

a few lines of book titles fades into the silvery plane of the screen, displaying results of books that contains the information of "King William" in them.

 

 _A Walkthrough of Modern Wizardry History._ probably useless and boring.

 

 _Advanced and Newly Invented Spells._ just some spells.

 

 _The Bumblebees Empire._ just a biography of the vibrant years of the empire, useless.

 

it is the last line that catches both of their attention. " _King William and the Vampire Edward_." louis read it out loud, "hey, isn't that the exact title of the fairytale version of the story that mom used to read me? it might help a bit."

 

"we should try everything anyways. where is it?" harry quips from his side.

 

"lemme see. wait — the restricted section? why does it have to be bloody restricted?" louis wonders in utter confusion, "haz? what do you think?"

 

"i'd say it's worth trying, if that's the only useful one in the whole library," the asked lad carefully replies, eyes trained on the screen.

 

louis averts his owns towards the restricted section. the area is in shadows as fire isn't lit there, blocked by a enormous cage which is locked with a padlock that looks tough enough. usually no one goes near there — no one really bothers enough to break in a library, if anything they would rather try the secretly hidden chambers — so it's clear.

 

louis nods at his lover, signalling that he's in with this idea. the only question is, how will they go behind the cages? the two lads leave their spots and start walking towards the shadowed part of the library, making it slow so that it would be harder for anyone to suspect that they're up to something. indeed, the metal bars are protected by a heavy-looking padlock. the lock is thick and the bars are even thicker.

 

harry picks up the huge padlock, it feels very heavy in his hands. he fishes for his wand in his pocket, pointing it at the hole on the lock where the key should go and whispers, " _alohomora_ ".

 

the lock doesn't budge. "it's probably protected by magic," louis says, "is there any more advanced spells to open a lock?" harry looks to the lock in his hands incredulously. giving it a point look, he raises his wand again and whispers again, " _alohomora duo_ ".

 

the lock is still sitting there as if it has never been bothered. louis furrows his brows and mutters something under his breath. his then reaches into the insides of his robe.

 

"okay, i've got this," he announces, going for the padlock in harry's hands and holding something in his own.

 

"what's that?" harry says, gesturing to the alien object.

 

"oh, this?" louis says, as he tries to stuck the thing into the hole, "a bobby pin. muggle intelligence."

 

louis jerks the shaft into the keyhole, twisting it against the tight mechanics and soon it cracks open. a smug smile lights up in his face as he turns to harry and announces in a sing-songy voice, "ta da."

 

harry just pull the lock out and let's the handle hangs around the loop on the gate of the metal bars. he quickly reaches for the door and pulls it open, trying to make as little noise in the process of doing so. he glances around hastily again before pushing himself and louis in, sneaking behind the bars.

 

"it's kinda creepy here, innit?" louis speaks, suddenly finding the urge to whisper.

 

"yeah," harry whispers back in the same tone.

 

"where's the book at?" louis asks.

 

"seems like section 2, row 2. columns 0 and shelf 2." harry relies, checking his memory.

 

"2202..." louis mumbles to himself. it's getting darker and darker and both of them press closer..it's quite far away from the non-restricted sections so they feel safe enough to conjure up a lumos from the tip of their wands.

 

"got it." louis States when they reaches their destination. the areas is still big and there are apparently a lot of restricted books, some are quiet looking. and some looks like they're ready to bite. "how about you go around there so that each one of us could search a shelf and it would be faster." he suggested to harry.

 

the Slytherin nods silently and goes off to the stack that is opposite to louis'. he goes behind it and starts searching. louis begins by circling around the bookshelf, eyes travelling up and down and searching for the one book title that he secretly dreads of.

 

he is going through a boring book about some fire-eaters — what even is that? — when he hears a super loud thud from the other side of the rows. his heart immediately starts hammering out of his chest because of momentary panic because, there might be some people discovering their acts but then louis notices there is literally no one around beside him and probably harry.

 

oh wait, _harry_ , wait. that loud thud seem to have come from his direction. what happened? wondering within a split second, louis immediately darts out of the bookshelves and rushes to where his boyfriend was supposed to be standing.

 

a big-looking book is lying by harry’s legs, flipped open to a page which mostly contains pictures and a few lines of words. and the lad? louis' gaze trails up, oh he has his mouth agape, eyes staring straight ahead, but they're blank. his body is slightly shaking, looking like he has been in shock. the large book must have slipped from his hands and to the floor, the only thing that is still being merely held in harry’s hands is his wand, emitting a faint light.

 

“wha' — haz?” it honestly scares him a bit, but mostly worries him. what has harry seen?

 

harry doesn't seem to notice louis is there until his high-pitched voice speaks, and when he does, he flinches from the surprise. then the next thing he does is to whip his head to face louis, staring at him dead on the eyes. louis is a bit startled and very much confused to say the least, as harry’s expression is one that louis can’t read, it’s a mixture of fright, shock, sadness and hurt. (hurt?)

 

louis gingerly takes a step forwards, holding out his hand wanting to touch at his arm, only for harry's breaths to hitch even more. " _no no no_ ," the boy jerks backward, his face even paler than usual, wide eyes that seems to be glistening even under the mere dim light that is shared between them two.

 

"wait! harry — " louis desperately calls for his boyfriend, he doesn't understand. it was all good and then the next moment harry is looking like he's seen a bloody ghost. he's saying no to him, and backing away, was it the book he read? what did he see? what is that hurt look in his face?

 

but before louis could register it, harry is already sprinting past him, brushing him or of the way. and louis is none but stuck on the ground, he wants to chase after his boyfriend, but he can't bring his legs to. less than a moment later he's hearing the sound of harry bursting out of the closed doors.

 

a sound between a gasp and a whimper escapes the Gryffindor's mouth. everything is happening so fast he doesn't understand. he's standing here alone in this creepy dark side of the school and his boyfriend has just miraculously run away from him, as if he's scared. what possibly could happen?

 

his eyes, once again, falls on the pile that remains on the floor. he shuffles closer to it, despite his legs feeling like jelly. crouching down, he points the tip of his wand to the book and lifts up the cover. _King William and Vampire Edward, first editions,_ it reads. .......... yes that's just what have been etched into his mind for years, they're just sitting there for him to remember, his mother has probably started reading this to him just even when he's just in diapers, for crying out loud.

 

it's his favourite as a child, not that he heard of many others anyways. he didn't understand, but he does now. he knows why his family puts so much effort into engraving the tale to his heart, for him to mesmerize a mission by heart. they have been preparing him for a battle, to be a warrior, brave and have courage all along. as louis' fingertips trails along the smudged words, he briefly wonders if his mother is brought up like this too, and why she's so happy when he got sorted into Gryffindor.

 

he isn't sure if he's qualified to be a Gryffindor anymore. he's just so scared, and lost, and cold without harry's constant presence. he should be brave, he should go and take on this mission without any hesitation, yet he now wants to nothing but to hide away and cry.

 

louis flips through the whole book, and his actions coming into a halt as he reaches the last page, his forehead creasing up in confusion. inked there glaring up at him is an appendix, and inside the appendix founded two list of words — names to be exact — linking at each other and down like a family tree. it is something the lad has never seen before in his own edition of the book. louis quickly scans through it. it isn't long, but there must be at least one hundred years in. in the very top on either side of the page, it says Witch and Vampire.

 

on the left, some caught his attention. his eyes widen at the sight of what's printed on the bottom part. near the bottom of the page, he sees his grannies' names, just above his mother's. he traces a finger along the ink, at the tattered paper, his mind rolling high in thoughts.

 

it's then does he notices it's his mother's maiden name.

 

 _what has got harry so worked up?_ _it's not like he's relevant in this, right?_ this should be louis' family problem. as the bell begins to ring out from the outside, louis looks down at the book on his hands. shaking his head, he tucks the book under his armpits shielded by his robes, and heads out of the restricted area. he shouldn't do this, but he has no choice, if there is a possibility in this book that sets harry off, he might as well investigate it. he glances around once more then skips to the exit, slipping past the librarian.

 

louis is down right miserable the next mornings to say the least, and he would admit to it. it's been a few days. liam and niall has been asking him repeatedly about harry during their night-time meetups. louis lied about them having a minor argument and claimed he wants to think things over alone.

 

it’s just a few days, and he and harry hasn’t been dating for that long. cliché as it is, louis feels this weird connection to the boy, like they should have known each other for decades. therefore, even a few days apart, it feels like as if some part of him is missing.

 

harry didn't look for him, didn't return to the texts of worry and apologies and didn't even bother to read the last few. he always have his head kept low in classes which he shares with louis, none of them utter anything.

 

are they... _breaking up?_ but no, louis would certainly not let the curly boy go without a proper explanation. louis craves it, he craves it because he really wants to know what triggered the lad's departure all of a sudden or what's makes it look like the world has just crashed down him. he kinda needs to talk to harry and stretch things out. he still doesn't know what happened.

 

but at the same time he craves harry too. it's like he never knew what he has been doing before discovering harry. it's just a mere few days and he's definitely not a sap, but all he could think of is _harry harry harry_. his touches and kisses and warm smiles kind eyes _dimples_. he feels kind of lost, yet the thing that frustrates him most is that he doesn't even understand  why harry has run away from him. he doesn't understand why he didn't chase out after him.

 

he’s almost sure the fairy tale book — the story about his ancestor, the book constantly lying on his bedside table, lurking at the back of his head —  has something to do with harry’s sudden lost of interest in communicating with his boyfriend. louis has repeatedly read through the book by now, despite him originally being able to recite the whole story from the start to the end and back. there is nothing wrong with the content, nothing wrong with the papers, no book wraiths, no. so why did harry run away like he’s escaping to save his life?

 

louis’ head hurts, really. on one side he has to deal with this fucking, supposed-to-be “mission”, and at the same time trying to stop harry from avoiding him. they need to talk, for real. but before they are going to talk, louis has to talk to someone first. to figure out the jumbled mess in his head.

 

subconsciously, he soon finds himself outside of the headmasters’ chamber. well, they did told him he is welcomed to stop by, right? so if he’s really going to sort out his mind, he might as well consult someone with great authority.

 

he raises a hand to knock at the wooden door. almost immediately, the door is snatched open by a Professor Malfoy, as if he is expecting louis to come.

 

"good merlin, mr tomlinson. uh, do come in, kid!" Malfoy invites him in, to which louis bites his lips and gives a swift nod.

 

walking into the elegantly designed room, louis immediately spots another man standing behind the desk, folding up a battered-looking parchment. he’s a bit surprised to see both of the headmasters together at the same place, considering it’s still afternoon and some lessons have been going on.

 

“ _louis!_ what a pleasure to see you again,” Professor Potter raises his head, pushing up the frame settled on the bridge of his nose, “not that i mind, but why are you here? is everything going fine?”

 

louis huffs, “ugh, just peachy.”

 

“so something _did_ happened, right?” Albus Potter says in a kind voice, his eyes twinkling in his spectacles like stars in the night sky.

 

"a lot of things have been going on," louis sighs heavily.

 

"then what can we do to help you, son?" Professor Malfoy offers, his low but calm voice rings through the whole room.

 

"i actually came here for some advice, or some talking, since it's about time i figure something out for my decision," louis begins, pausing a bit to glance at his teachers. the old men gesture for him to carry on. louis nods and continues.

 

"in theory, i really do wanna take on this mission, help my family and whatnot. i mean, if i'm the descendant of our empire, this is only reasonable for me to do what i have to do. however, another huge part of me feels this is wrong. not to mention the whole thing seems ridiculous. if it's not for my own parents informing me this seriously, i would never believe something as ancient as this still happen nowadays. what, be a _knight_ in shining armor to protect my empire?" the Gryffindor has to force down a snicker, "but the thing that casts me into the most struggle is, i'd rather us and the vamps remain at peace and respect than risking to kill someone innocent."

 

"that’s some good thinking here, louis.” the professor comments, “we can’t tell you what you should do, that’s your family business and should be your own decision to make. but keep in mind that no one, no one can force you into doing something you don’t want to. even if you’re forced, what you do would never turn out good. the only thing we can tell you is to always listen to your heart, if you think something is wrong, even just a little bit, don’t do it.”

 

louis nods along when his headmaster reasons out, his bottom lips softly caught between his teeth.

 

“i just don’t want anyone getting hurt.” the lad says, voice barely above a whisper.

 

“just as Scorp said, it’s totally up to you, and the battle is yours to fight. louis, we didn't choose fate. fate chose us, so did love. so embrace it. if you have decided that way, then follow your heart, do something for your own good. it’s something, after all, about life and death.” Professor Potter speaks up.

 

“is there anyway that this curse can be lift? magic can be reversed, right?” louis quips.

 

“very true, mr tomlinson. every curse can be reversed, if one only find a way. i thought i read somewhere about curses like the one we’re dealing with.”

 

“what is it?” louis immediately asks, a bit too loud for his own likings.

 

Professor Potter looks to his husband. Scorpius shrugs, and sighs, “well, i believe the only way to reverse this curse is for the vampire to kill the witch first."

 

⊱•⊰

 

"okay, let's guess. the sex isn't good enough."

 

"what?!" louis abruptly turns in his chair to face his irish friend with a horrid expression.

 

"the reason why harry isn't here with you and you have to steal me from my boyfriend," niall deadpans, twirling a pencil between his index and thumb, "so, is it the sex? he isn't good enough to impress you?"

 

"niall! we haven't — " louis huffs, his cheeks starting to flush in slight embarrassment. he glances around the library to make sure no one is eavesdropping before saying, "we haven't even do the _do_ yet!"

 

niall's eyebrows arch up as if sex is the only thing that would cause problem in the world of relationships, "ah, so what is it? wait, is he cheating on you? using you? coz if that's the case i'll definitely — "

 

"calm down niall!" louis hisses as low as he could, as some students turn around to stare at him. he offers his best apologetic smile to them, before turning back.

 

"harry wouldn't do that. you know he's a good guy. and it isn't me or him, i don't know. we haven't even discussed about it yet."

 

"then how do you know he's mad or avoiding you?" the Ravenclaw questions.

 

"the feeling's mutual, ni." louis heaves a sigh and pushes back the fringe that is falling over his eyes.

 

“but you can’t just keep avoiding each other. you two are larry, for merlin’s sake! you’re meant to be the power couple that everyone ships.” niall semi-exclaims, looking at louis with wide eyes.

 

“what’s a larry?” confused, the brunette boy holds his friend off and asks incredulously.

 

“that’s the ship name of you and harry. larry stylinson, that’s your names put together. it's call a ship, that’s a muggle thing. and i am apparently the captain, not liam.” niall announces.

 

“oh, you and your antics.” louis mocks annoyed sigh. “not sure if it’s sailing at the moment, if that’s the case.”

 

“it will eventually come around , trust me.” niall places a reassuring palm on louis’ shoulders.

 

louis sighs for real this time and rubs a hand over his face, “it’s just — many things have been going on these days. i’m very not sure what to do.”

 

“yeah, i noticed. it seems to have caused you a big trouble, of course i won't press you to tell me about it, but, y'know, if you wanna talk," the lad shrugs as if it's nonchalant, "we're always here."

 

louis smiles gratefully to his best friend, but the smile doesn't reach his eyes. he sighs again and leans forward at the table, "y'know, ni, sometimes i feel like i'm nowhere near brave. if i have the enough courage and determination maybe most of the things would have been worked out by now. most of the time i'm just scared, hiding and whining about my problems. and hey, i'm still barely working a spell, how am i supposed to be in bloody Gryffindor?"

 

"hey, _hey_ ," niall urges, to which louis looks up at him again with a curious glance, bottom lips slightly jutted out by instinct, "some people just needs a longer time finding their own cores, and trust me, louis, if the sorting hat sort you into Gryffindor you might as well stay as one. it isn't about whatever spells you could master, what truly awakes your qualities lies in your heart."

 

"but lord tell me how to solve my problems first!" louis groans into his hands.

 

"there's nothing magic can't solve!" niall pats at louis' head and ruffles his hair like he's a small child. louis wonders how could the Ravenclaw goes from utter serious to super cheery in just one second, "believe in magic, lou-lou."

 

_believe in magic._

 

as the bell rings and louis gradually gathers the textbooks in his arms, the words ring in his mind. he walks out of the library after bidding goodbye with his irish bestfriend. niall has to go to his muggle studies class and it's a free period for louis. he strolls in the hallway, everything packed in his mind. _believe in magic._

 

decision making, risk taking. louis slowly sighs through his nose, nothing is certain now. whatever's meant to happen should happen, louis doesn't really want to think anymore about it. but right now, only one thing on his mind is important, eating his heart away and makes it aches. it all comes down on his is he going to act, it depends on him, and if it takes two to tango in a relationship, he doesn't mind to be the one initiating the dance.

 

_believe in magic._

just then, liam walks by in his direction. louis quickly stops him. "li! liam, do you know where harry is?"

 

liam, who louis supposed just had a core class with harry, nods and point to the distant, "i believe he headed for the field. quidditch practice."

 

louis' face lights up and he takes in a sharp breath. he hurries to thank liam, then takes off in the said direction. he's running so fast that his legs almost denies his brain's command, yet he keeps running, keeps running, he just has to see harry as soon as humanly possible.

 

once his steps foot onto the green grass that is grown all over the backyard of the school, his eyes immediately darts for the figure of harry that is so familiar by now that he swears would be engraved in his heart. he jogs towards the bench, his lungs betraying him, so do his limbs. he looks up at the blinding sun and tries to focus on each of the faces of the random people zooming by.

 

there he sees a head of curly hair pulled up into a tight bum, glimmering under the sunlight, and a significantly bright green scarf (to match his eyes with). his heart explodes in his chest in joy and the sea of cheers surrounding him became nothing louder than a small buzz. something curiously like nerve rises up his heart as if it's being shaken vigorously. the lad pats at his chest instinctively as he gasps. he doesn't care:

 

"harry!"

 

the first thing he noticed, is that the lad turns around so fast it's almost inhumanely impossible in his broomstick, so fast louis worries he falls off mid-air altogether. harry does falter, and his sparkling eyes begins to search through the crowd at once, sweeping every single one's faces. when his gaze finally lands on louis, who is still gosling his textbook with another hand clutching at his chest, face pale from the lack of oxygen, his eyes widen so much it's comical. his mouth drops open as well, slightly partly with blends in perfectly with the faint blush on his cheeks.

 

the next thing he knows, is that a ball (what is that called? a _Quaffle_?) from the opposite team is making its way straight to harry. yet the Slytherin doesn't know, as he is busy starting gobsmacked at his lover.

 

louis sees the bulky ball zooming in the air, he points at it and let's out a shout, "harry! a ball in your face!"

 

the lad on the broomstick hears the shrill cry and swifts around. when he noticed the Quaffle, it is already within an arm's reach to his face. he immediately lays down on his side, death grip on the stick he's sitting on. the ball barely makes it through not hitting him in the process. harry bites his lips raw and looks back as the red sphere makes it through the loop hang high in the sky. the opposite team is cheering, but harry shakes his head at his own captain and ducks towards the audience bench.

 

when he makes it right in front of louis and mounts, his breathing is still rigid from the sheer panic at the heart a minute ago. louis is also a bit breathless.

 

harry's thick curls shines with sweat under the shimmering sun, louis searches within his eyes before asking, "are you okay?"

 

"yes, thanks for uh — saving me out there." harry shifts on his legs awkwardly.

 

louis gives him a tight smile.

 

"we need to talk." he tells him.

 

harry chews at the inside of of his cheeks and nods in agreement, "yes, we do."

 

louis sighs through his nose and peeks up at harry. the sun rays are casting a reflection out of him, making his hair lighter and eyes pop out, and smaller than he already is. "this might not be the best timing, b-but do you still at least like me?"

 

harry's eyes widen and he looks at louis with what the latter deciphers as shock. "of course i still do, i'll always love you, lou."

 

"then why have you been avoiding me?" louis pouts a little.

 

"i'm not — " the taller lad huffs and uses his hand to comb his hair back, "yes i am. i panicked and haven't worked out how to react. it's very complicated and is still bothering me full-time on my brain. but yes, we have to talk about it.”

 

“okay,” louis accepts, “when are we gonna talk, i guess not in the middle of a pitch right?”

 

“of course not,” harry chuckles, “say, meet me at the lake outside the Slytherin tower tonight at 7, sound good? and, do you have the book with you? the one i kind of dropped that day?”

 

“ah, figured it has something to do with your sudden coldness towards me. yes, it is with me.”

 

a blush creeps on harry’s cheeks, “i’m so sorry, lou. it shouldn’t have turned out that way. bring the book with you tonight, i’ll try explaining everything to you.”

 

“i’m just teasing you, but don’t think you’re forgiven this easily. i’ll take the book, tonight at 7 outside the Slytherin tower, right?”

 

“yes,” harry says, curling a finger in his hair sheepishly, “i’m sorry and i’ll make it up to you.”

 

louis feels his stomach flips at the sincere look in harry’s eyes. he takes a step forward and closes in the distance between them, using his free arm to pull the taller lad into a hug. harry gladly hugs him back, slacking in a moment of relief.

 

louis turns his head to whisper in harry’s ear, “i look forward to your splendid explanation tonight.”

 

harry releases him, he is biting his lips again. louis steps back, but before he turns around and leaves, he waves goodbye at his boy.

 

suddenly, louis’ hands are caught in a desperate grasp, he looks back at harry and cocks his head to a side as if to ask “ _what_?’. harry takes in a sharp breath, “please remember that i love you, so much.”

 

louis glances at him skeptically. “ _oh_. i-i love you too?”

 

harry nods again solemnly, finally letting louis go.

 

louis’ lips quirks up at the corners and turns his back towards his boyfriend, walking out of the field, amused confusion laced on his mind.

 

it was not until later that day does he know why harry said that to him.

 

⊱•⊰

 

the lake is cold at night, the wind seeping between the bony branches of the tall-stood trees. the sky is none but cloudy, and the remains of moonlight shines through the peaks of the thick shadows on the shimmering plane of water.

 

louis hides the book he has in his hands back into his robes, scurrying out of the tunnel he found that can connect the Gryffindor Tower to outside the castle. a breeze of strong wind causes the end of his robe to fly up, but also allows him to recognize a figure who is lurking underneath the shadows of the trees.

 

the figure waves at him. louis ducks down and paddles towards the person as quick as he can.

 

“you came.” harry gives him a face-splitting beam as louis walks up to him.

 

“of course, i’d promised, didn’t i?” louis returns a grin, “even remembered to bring the book with me. do you want it now?”

 

but harry shakes his head, “not yet, i wanna say something first.”

 

“then say something — do you wanna sit down?”

 

they sit down side by side on the ground, leaning backwards to the trunk of a big tree. the Slytherin student takes in a sharp breath as if he’s working up all his courage. he begins, “i’m going to start by saying that i’ll love you no matter what, and that i’m very sorry. i see that the past few days you’ve not been very lively, miserable even. i’m sorry that it is me who caused all of these messes, i should have thought more clearly.”

 

“it’s okay, now that you have apologized, just don’t do that again or at least warn me. but i also notice that this week you haven’t been in your best shape, so let’s call it a tie.” louis responds, turning his head to look at harry’s pained and regretful expression with all the sincerity he can mush up.

 

“i just love you a lot, louis, y’know. it hasn’t even been a full year, but love is something you can’t explain.” harry repeats.

 

“i know, i feel the same way too,” louis gives a light laugh, amused. “why are you saying this all of a sudden? like you’re gonna be gone forever — wait, you aren’t, right? is it about me?”

 

“calm down, babe. it’s nothing about you. i just have to let you know, before we do anything, before anything happens,” harry pauses and puts his face into his hands, “oh god, this is a disaster.”

 

“what? what’s a disaster?”

 

“you’re so going to kill me.” harry mutters under his breath.

 

“no, i’ll never do that. now what is it?” louis presses.

 

harry just presses his lips into a thin and points at the object that is protruding out of louis’ robe. louis gets the message and reaches for it, handing it to his lover.

 

“turn to page 394.” he instructs.

 

louis flips the open the book to the said page. it is the page of the appendix that displays the family trees. 

“instead of reading our family history to me like your mother did, my mother read me our family tree. from about a hundred years ago up to the present.” just when louis opens his mouth to speak, harry holds up a hand to pause him, “now check this out.”

 

the boy closes his eyes in concentration, recalling, “Damien Jensen Pyrites is borned in 1958, he’s married to Elizabeth Tiril Black who is just one year younger than him, borned in 1957. they have two sons, Edward Joseph Pyrites who is borned in 1982. he is also the ‘Prince Edward’ we see in the story. though he died young, he has an older brother, Christopher Benedict Pyrites, who married Aurelia Fiona Boon at the age of 30. they have two daughters, Jean Prudence Pyrites and Jordan Kelli Pyrites. the latter being a few years younger. Jean is married to Thomas Paul Smith while her sister remained unmarried."

 

louis' jaw drops then, they open and close as if he's going to say something. but he didn't, not in the right state of mind. instead, his eyes travels back and forth the book and harry.

 

"Jean and Thomas conceived a daughter," he continues, "Mary Lana Smith and a son, Misha James Smith, who is unfortunately a stillborn. Mary gave birth to a daughter with her husband, Brian William Selley. they named their daughter Anne Cox Selley,”  harry opens his eyes and holds his boyfriend's gaze, "though she would like to go by the last name Cox. and she was married to Desmond Styles, though divorced not long later."

 

" _what_?" louis chokes out, "harry. what?"

 

harry grunts out and sits up, leaning over to jab his finger at the name 'Edward', "it's meant to be me. it's me all along. we're meant to — it's either you or me."

 

"wait — "

 

"don't you see it? _i'm_ the one who you're meant to kill off, _i'm_ the one you're looking for, all along, the first boy among the descendents. i'm sure you know my mom, Anne and biological father, Des. i called zain right later that night at the library and confronted him. he told me everything. now i know why is he so protective of me, it isn't only because i'm the youngest in the family."

 

louis makes a choked noise and hangs his forehead on his bent-up knees, "no, no no. it's not meant to turn out like this."

 

"but it is, i'm born to die."

 

louis' head snaps up and he gasps, "no, you're not. i would never kill you, no matter what. i-i love you, for god's sake."

 

"who knows? you know me and love me, but your family don't." harry uses his fingers to comb back at his curls that are falling over, pulling them hard.

 

louis puts his face back into his hands. harry's body is pressing close to him, but he feels cold. his shoulders begins to shake as tears start to burn at the back of his eyes. he feels so helpless.

 

"is there any way this curse would — "

 

louis peeks up from his hands, tears glistening in his eyes, his body slumps in defeat, "if you're asking about if there is any way this curse could be reversed. there is." harry's features light up for a moment before louis continues, "the only way i and no one have to kill you is for you to kill me first.

 

"at this rate you might as well kill me coz i — "

 

"never in a million years — "

 

they both say in unison.

 

harry's mouth drops open, his forehead creasing up. he makes an offended sound in his throat, " _no!_ louis please don't think like that. i'd never ever harm you. yes, it should be our revenge, but we both know we're nothing like our ancestors."

 

"I know you would never hurt me, i know, haz. b-but i don't know what to think, i don't know what to do." louis admits, voice barely above a whisper.

 

he feels a pair of soft but strong hold around his waist, pulling him in. he melts into the touch and nuzzles his face into harry's clothes, letting the helpless tears in his eyes seep out. he feels harry's hot breath above him, and then some kind of wetness. one of harry's hands leaves his heat, only to come back shortly after.

 

"i mean, w-what if I know my mission before i met you, then i wouldn't know the real you without having the thought of needing to harm you." the Gryffindor squirms against his boyfriend's hold, fighting to look up, "what if i killed you harry, this could happen!"

 

"hey, calm down," harry's quick to sooth a palm over the small of louis' back. "i trust you louis, you wouldn't go off to kill innocent people, or if you don't know them. you wouldn't kill me."

 

"how can you be so sure?" louis asks, truly confused. _it should be his mission to kill harry, yet harry won't even fight back, given the chance._

 

"because i love you, lou." the lad's voice _cracks_ , "i believe whatever happen, if our fate meant for us to fall in love, it will happen anyways in it's own accord. if we didn't end up being mortal enemies, even when now you have to 'kill me', then we'd better be insanely close."

 

"but could we really find a way out, or do we have to pretend it doesn't matter and hide from our relatives all our lives?" louis reasons, his tone isn't even rude, but it sounds tired.

 

"maybe we don't know yet, but i told you we would go through this together, we will...find a way.” harry finishes hesitantly, coming out more like a question than a statement. “thank you so much for trusting me and not being mad at me and — whatever.”

 

louis extends a hand and gently rubs at harry’s porcelain cheeks where the dried tears stained, “i would never. i love you. i trust you.”

 

“and i you, lou.” harry replies just as softly.

 

the shorter boy climbs on his boyfriend’s lap, he takes his other hand and places it on his chest, hovering over. he cups harry cheeks then bites the inside of his cheeks into a small smile. he tips his chin forward and slowly attaches his lips to harry’s. he could feel the lad relaxed into the touch significantly.

 

harry kisses back, just as passionately. he straightens himself then tower over louis, successfully taking over the lead. louis' breathings begin to rough out as he lets out a whimper. his heart is beating the fastest it's ever beat in his throat, he could almost hear the rush of pulsing blood in his ears as if he has heightened senses. still, he bites back a moan and opens his mouth just a bit.

 

harry catches on and he settles his hands on louis' waist instead, to which the boy pushes his bottom lip outwards. harry opens his mouth as well and lets his tongue slips out, swiping across louis', tasting the bittersweet of remain tears on them. louis' lips are thin, but they're juicy and holds so much character. the way they feel against harry's thick ones and how louis' legs would always cling on his hips. harry grazes his teeth over the lips, which are probably puffy red now, listening to the choked breaths that is escaping louis' mouth. he hums lowly in his throat, then nibbles gently at them.

 

louis shifts across harry's lap, gasping softly at the sensation that lands on his inner thighs. his and harry's lips slot against each other like puzzle bits, but maybe this is what fate is. the lad begins to fit his hands into harry's soft curls, tugging on them lightly. harry jerks up, and surprisingly, moans into the kiss. which causes something to stir in louis' stomach, twisting in interest. louis breaks apart their mouths, only to catch a quick breath. harry's orbs are blown wide, a dark shade of brown clouding over his pupils.

 

"i trust you," louis whispers against harry's jawline, "i want you," his voice cracks, "i love you."

 

and somehow harry feels this "trust" is different from the one he meant a minute ago.

 

"i realized i have never really made it up to you for the past couple o' days," he murmurs, hooking an index finger under louis' chin and tips his head up, meeting the strong gaze behind hold by the shimmering blue eyes, "so...what do you want me to do?"

 

harry lowers his hands again to louis' bum, successfully covering almost the whole cheek with one palm, he pats the bum and rubs them tenderly. louis mewls out a breathless soft moan. harry drops his voice to an even lower whisper, "you like that, babe?"

 

louis pushes his hips forward and whimpers. harry can feel something beginning to prod at his stomach. he continues to rub his over at the cloth, secretly hoping that the cloth is not there, and squeezes a bit.

 

"feel good, hmm?"

 

" _harry_." louis whines.

 

harry proceeds to slip a hand down to louis' thighs, occasionally rubbing a thumb towards the inner side just so to tease the boy. "can i give you a blowjob?" he hums into the shell of louis' ears, feeling the shiver that goes down his spine, "bet you want that, huh?"

 

"yes yes yes please, i'd love to just wait," louis paws at harry's chest and grinds down on his awaiting palm, "wanna get back to your dorm."

 

"yeah, okay," harry pants, his own cock tweaking in excitement, "i'll carry you."

 

louis merely nods and drops his head back in between the crook of harry's neck, nibbling at the skin there, trembling at the fine touch harry has on his bum. he feels the Slytherin's hold tightens. he giggles into the shoulder.

 

they take one of the secret passages back to the Slytherin tower and sneaks into harry's bunk as soon as possible. louis is already gripping tightly onto harry's biceps and humping towards him, yearning for a sweet release.

 

harry quickly dumps louis on his bed and hops on it, shrugging his long robe off. louis is staring up at him, his eyes pouring out words his heart has never told. his cheeks are flaming, displaying a beautiful rosy, but harry reckons his are too.

 

he puts a hand up louis' thighs, feeling the boy's breath hitches up. then he lifts the corner of louis' robes and throws it off in a swift second, yet halting at the band of his pants.

 

looking up momentarily, he asks, "you sure 'bout this, lou?"

 

"yes, harry. just do it, i trust you — " a whimper cuts him off, " — with my life."

 

his words seems to hold meaning more than it sounds, but for the moment harry lets everything leave his mind and unzip the trousers, yanking it down. louis' red, throbbing cock is perking its tip just above his underwears, slightly wetting at his stomach.

 

harry licks at his lips and pulls it down as well, freeing the cock, it springs up and curves flatly at louis' abdomen. harry's own cock is jabbing at the tight material at his jeans too, but he chooses not to do anything just yet.

 

turning his attention back to louis, he tenderly places his palm on the leaking cock. louis jerks his hip up at the sudden contact and gasps. harry rubs a soothing hand at his upper thighs and leans down, casually letting his hot breath ghost over the naked skin.

 

he picks up the hard cock and starts admiring every inch of it, as if to memorize it in his mind. he begins by licking a wet stripe up the shaft, soon followed by pumping at the base of it. louis turns his head and moans into the pillow. harry breathes out and swipes a tongue at the head of louis' cock, occasionally letting it slip into the slit. he could feel the small of pre-come gathering on his tongue, and he sucks at it.

 

louis spreads his legs wider for harry, whimpering out brokenly. the familiar feeling is stirring up at the pit of his stomach, he arches his back and pushes the tip into harry's mouth. harry willingly opens it wider and takes louis into it, swirling his tongue up and down the member. with one hand holding the shivering boy in place, he uses his free hand to play with one of his balls.

 

"ahh — " louis moans/cries out, reaching a hand up to grip at the covers. harry smirks the best he could with his mouth fully occupied.

 

harry leans back up again and kitten licks at the head, parting it with his tongue. louis is panting, loud, his body pliant. his moans are like music rhythms to harry's ears. harry goes down to lick at his balls, making the laying boy shudder. before sucking at the cock like it's the best dessert in the word.

 

"harry. move on," louis cries out urgently, his eyes rolling up to the top before he closes them.

 

harry pulls off momentarily to double-checks at his lover. "alright there, lou?"

 

"yeah just, nghh, move on." louis is struggling to get his tongue to cooperate with his mind, "hasn't had a wank for a bit of time so — _oh_."

 

harry chokes a little at the end of the cock jabbing at his throat. he sputters but doesn't pull away. instead, he hollows his cheeks and sucks soundly. he bobs his head up and down, taking louis into his throat and past his gag reflex, not that he really has one. and he sucks gently, trying to savour every bit of the bittersweet. humming against it as he reaches the deepest he could, the tip of his nose touches louis' belly.

 

a hand slips into his messy curls and fingers pull at them. it sends a shiver down harry's spine, causing his own member to bounce painfully against the tight material of his jeans. the inners of louis' thighs start quivering, his hold tightening on harry's scalp.

 

"ha — harry!" louis' voice goes even higher than it was normally, as the lad lets out a dry sob, "close, so close. i'm gon — gonna c-come."

 

harry shifts his hands into rubbing seductive circles on louis hips, his thumb pressing around hard at the sharp-cut out-jutted bones. louis keeps silent mostly, only letting a few breathless babbles. harry quickly retrieves his mouth from the pulsing, curving cock, only in time for a wave of liquid heat to shoot into his awaiting tongue with a loud moan of his own name. the lad swallows them all in one go, despite it burning in the back of his throat.

 

louis is panting, still having his eyes close and chest heaving up and down to get back from the momentary paradiso pleasure, too tired to move. his once angry cock is now settled contently in his boyfriend's palm, as the latter tries to lick away the mere remaining cum.

 

after finding out he still has harry's hair in his grip, louis tugs on the curls a bit. harry juggles at the unfamiliar sensation, while louis watches on in amusement. with a final tug and giggles from louis from the funny part of it, harry shoots back up straight in probably the fastest he has ever managed. his huge hands immediately darting to the zipper of his jeans and shrugs them off.

 

he pulls out his shaft and swallows a moan as the cold air hits. he's kneeling on top of louis, whose now-closed legs are between his knees. he grabs his leaking, fully-hard cock into his hands and starts to flick his wrist, shuffling his palm up and down the member. it's too dry and hurts a bit for the Slytherin's likings.

 

"do — uh — do you have lube?" closing his eyes, he hesitantly asks. he feels like burning up. or maybe he is.

 

"yeah," louis looks down at him from his laying position, voice a wee bit distant but fond pours out from his grin, "in my wallet. wallet's in pocket."

 

"accio lube." harry speaks, with both of his hands occupied at his south side. he keeps flickering his wrist around in a circular motion, as well as thumbing at the head, rubbing his foreskin up and down.

 

he uses two fingers to catch the small pack of lube then brings it to his mouth, tearing the packet with his teeth. the watery goo is gathered at his awaiting hands, while some dribbles over the base of his cock. he goes back to work, straight after, occasionally halting into ghost touches just so he could tease himself. the ever so familiar feelings he's been having on and off the last hour comes back to him, nagging his stomach into somersaults, twisting everything around. he bites down hard on his bottom lip.

 

"let go of it," comes louis' hoarse but angelic voice, "don't drink your own blood."

 

harry lifts his half-shut eyelids open, revealing a now-half-laying louis with beautiful blue eyes that could outshine all of the stars — louis is biting at his own lip. _drink, drink from it. eat him out, just eat him like enjoying a feast._ a voice in the back of harry's head said. groaning, with a last few tugs at his cock, he comes all over his hand and, (un)fortunately, spilling all over louis' stomach. he tilts his head back and groans out in relief.

 

louis sighs blissfully, making grabby hands at harry after he sees him bottoms out. harry leans on his elbows and carefully climbs out, hovering over the petite boy to grab a tissue from the bedside table. he retreats, proceeding to wipe off his own drying-cum on louis’ belly. he drops down beside his boyfriend, and as he’s trying to calm his breathings, he reaches out for louis and pulls the boy flush against his chest.

 

louis turns around to face him though. the Gryffindor nuzzles his face into the broad chest in front of him and fits an arm over harry’s hip.

 

“did i ever told you i find out what my patronus was?” he asks suddenly.

 

harry is close to falling asleep, but he cracks open an eye. “no, i only know you could cast one now.”

 

“well, _yeees_ ,” there is a hint of giddiness in louis’ tone, as he draws his word out, “it’s a vixen.”

 

“vix — _oh_. okay.” harry realizes, “ _sweeet_.” he comments, mocking louis’ tone and giggling.

 

louis hums, cocking his head up to meet harry’s gaze. he likes being wrapped up by his boyfriend, it’s only then does he truly likes their height difference. “y’know, i'm so glad that we met at the hogs head that day. i'm so glad that you trust me, even though i have no idea what to do next.”

 

“i’m so glad we made up, and you’re didn’t completely freak out and leave me.” harry admits sheepishly.

 

louis smiles up at him, “we’re all in this together. that’s what boyfriends are for.”

 

“hmm,” harry mumbles, “yeah, coz i love you, but right now let me sleep.”

 

louis takes in his face with an unusual glint in his eyes, fond smile full on his lips. he presses a peck on harry’s face, right next to the corner of his red lips.

 

but harry makes a noise in his throat and turns his head, capturing the lips of the boy in his arms probably.

 

they kiss, and it's all they need to believe.

 

⊱•⊰  
  


louis chews on his bottom lips absentmindedly, hissing as his teeth graze the wound that was gently ripped by harry an hour ago. harry’s teeth are indeed sharp, no vamps jokes intended.

 

letting out an annoyed huff, he declares on giving up, hiding his face in his hands. liam turns sideways to glance at his best friend, but turns back to banters with his own boyfriend quietly. louis secretly hopes their relationship will stay this peaceful forever, it’s better to get blinded by your happiness bubble then face the harsh reality like he and harry his to do.

 

it feels like a heavy weight on louis’ chest, over a hundred did he contemplate spilling everything to his two of his most important person in the world. niall would probably give good advice, or be a good listener; while liam could go quidditching with harry, take away the stress with the mighty sport. but on second thoughts, he’d rather not. he couldn’t handle two crazily freaked person and maybe harry wants to keep their conflicted family histories as a secret.

 

he can’t lose harry, but at the same time he can’t lose himself. he also cannot let the risk of whoever in both of their family trying to do the killing job themselves happen, then they’ll be playing fire with fire.

 

harry can’t die, he himself can’t die too.

 

_or can he?_

 

louis jumps up in his chair so vigorously that niall lets out a mini scream.

 

“ _fuck!_ ” he gasps, and if they are not used to louis being a dramatic, people would think he’s having a heart attack. or actually maybe he is, in fact.

 

“ _fuck_.” louis curses again, mumbling a list of profanities under his breath.

 

he scrambles to pull out his phone from his pocket, unlocking it in record time. his brows furrow in concentration reading what he found on the internet. after half an hour of blind searching and rechecking from dozens of website, and eventually chucking out a dusted, thick book from the shelves, he slumps back into the chair. liam has long gone to his patrol session, and niall, being niall, of course tagged along. hugging the book close to his chest, louis sighs, and shuts his eyes.

 

for sometime he feels relieved, but more as it goes on he feels anxious.

 

it's a way out. he found a way out. it's even probably the only way out. but for this way out, does it worth sacrificing anything and everything?

 

⊱•⊰  
  


the thing with harry, is that he is very charming and has that natural confidence in himself. he doesn't have the burst of courage, nor the super intelligent minds, but he's calm about his surroundings, sure of what he is doing. smirk permanent on his beautiful face and god, his dimples are so intriguing. louis wonders if it is a tradition of Slytherin that the student are all so flawless, it may be in the blood, or that louis is too obsessed and love sick, but it seems like harry's eyes have the power to capture the whole world and condense the essence of it into those maleficent emerald orbs of his.

 

but,

 

"harry," he calls, prodding his boyfriend on the shoulder, " _harry_."

 

harry's eyes reluctantly leaves his phone, before shifting his full attention to the boy sitting beside him, "wha — ?"

 

“i've been calling your name for a few times already.”

 

harry’s eyes widen, “oh, sorry, i was texting zain. what’s up?”

 

“it’s okay,” louis waves it off, “i wanted you to look at this.”

 

harry throws him an incredulous glance. louis wordlessly hands him his phone, opened up to one of the bookmarks in safari. harry takes the device and begins to read the title out loud.

 

“ _does it classified as officially dead even if you rise again after being killed and turned by a vampire_ — oh oh OH. holy shit!” harry spins around so quick that he swears he hears a crack sound, “fuck me!”

 

“will do.” louis smirks back at him, but other than that, he keeps a generally neutral face.

 

harry gauges at him, everything starting to click in his mind as he recalls — the only way to reverse the curse is for the vampire to kill the witch first, instead of the other way round like what is casted in the curse: louis is asking for death — “what the actual fuck? y-you _sure_ about this?”

 

louis nods firmly, wetting his lips with his tongue, “i think this is the only way to get rid of all trouble and remain safe at the same time. i even searched the library for official information, it’s completely justified.”

 

“but,” harry sputters. he puts down the phone in his lap then holds both louis’ wrists in his huge grasps, “this is permanent. you can’t turn back. and this is _me_ killing _you_ , i swore on earth that i will protect you, not the other way round. i just can’t do such a thing to you.”

 

“you have to — we have to. you turn me, we break the curse, and we could be _free_ , safe and breathing. it is only fair anyways, we the wizard royalty were the side who was wrong in the first place.” louis inches closer and tries to reason with harry, keeping his voice neutral and soft.

 

“but, i can’t, i can’t kill you. ” harry’s heart stutters in his chest, “i can’t just take away your life, fuck, you’ll be dying in my own hands! are you sure this is the only way?”

 

louis sighs, exasperated, “if i found one, i would have told you already. there is no way out, unless we move in reverse.”

 

harry continues without halting, “and you said we’re not like our ancestors. even if my family want revenge i don’t want it.  i have no reason to take it out on you. just like you said you won’t go kill off innocent people.”

 

“harry!” louis exclaims, a bit louder, “it doesn’t _matter_. the only thing important now is whether we would be in any danger. we cannot lose each other, and by turning me you won’t lose me but instead having me closer than ever for the rest of our lives. isn’t that — killing two birds with one stone — or whatever?”

  
“yes but — okay there is practically no flaw in this plan. but you’re sacrificing everything for this. you’ll stay forever a vampire, forever young, and pick up new habits.”

 

“no,” louis shakes his head, “no. i won’t be losing anything.” he gives his boyfriend the most sincere gaze he can muster up, “in return i could have love, i could have you, i could have a trouble-free life, freedom. i don’t mind it, if it’s what i’ve got to do.”

 

“have you thought about it clearly? i could do whatever i want on you, but you’ll be bound to me for ever and ever, no matter what.” the vampire argues.

 

“then it’s _fate_ , haz. don't you remember our priori incantatem, don't you remember our patronuses? don't you remember the fate our ascendants chose for us? even if it’s a cursed one. if we’re already meant to be, why not make it an infinity? if this is about you, about us, about the future of our offsprings, i don't care. i would do anything to protect you, from our cursed fate." louis finishes in a hushed breath. he can't believe his mouth could utter something as elegant as this.

 

harry looks at him like he's starstrucked, and for a moment louis thinks he's going to cry by the light quiver in the lips. after what seems like a whole fifteen minutes, eventually, the boy sighs, "i may have to think about this."

 

quirking up his lips, louis gives a slight smile. he knows what harry is thinking, for the boy would never try to hurt anyone he love, let alone killing them off with his own fangs. but what harry hasn't seen yet us that this isn't just "killing", not even close, not even at all. he's just saving them both, tying their blood together, winding them into legit soul mates, if they were not already are.

 

louis gently taps on the hand in his clutch with his palm in a soothing way, nodding an okay in understanding. blowing out a deep breath, he takes back his phone and checks the time. "oh, time for herbology class. i'll see you later then, love. are you having quidditch in the free period?"

 

"yeah," harry confirms.

 

"yeah," louis echoes, "relax your mind then. i know it's a lot, we both have to think. it's liam's turn tonight, so come to the Hufflepuff common room if you wanna find us."

 

louis starts pulling away, but harry, being his usual possessive self, pulls him back down again. he pecks at louis' lips, then leans back, touching their foreheads together. his gaze is too intense for a tiny peck, as he murmurs, "goodbye kisses. that's a rule."

 

a series of amused giggles bubbles up louis' throat, "you're always not letting me go just yet." he teases.

 

"never gonna let you leave." harry throws back, just as sappy.

 

that night when louis lays in bed, he receives a phone call. squinting in the dark, he reaches out for the device that is blaring and looks at the caller. it says harry. he casts a silencio before accepting the call, lest it’ll wake anyone up with their conversation.

 

"haz? it's almost midnight. why are you calling me?"

 

_“i’ll do it.”_

 

“do what?” louis asks.

 

_“i’m gonna turn you.”_

 

a small smile breaks out in louis’ face.

 

“really?”

 

_“yes, i’m sure. i-i’ll take the risk. for you, for us.”_

 

“okay, thank you for doing this.”

 

louis could almost hear harry shakes his head on the other side of the phone.

 

_“no, it’s the other way round. you are sacrificing yourself just to save me from being the victim. so there’s no excuse for me not doing this for you.”_

 

“no,” louis protests, “love, you’re not just doing this for me, you’re doing this for us. the warrior is you, not me, never me all along. it takes two to tango, i believe everyone has to somehow sacrifice something for love to work.”

 

harry chuckles, _“yeah, i believe you’re correct. are — are you gonna sleep now?”_

 

“actually no, i’m not sleepy.”

 

_“okay. then may we talk?”_

 

“always the polite one, styles, aren’t you? yes, love, of course we can.”  
  


louis replies, turning around the pull the duvet up to his chin.

 

_“when do you wanna do it? i mean, the turn.”_

 

“well, i’m thinking as soon as possible. what is the official age for adulthood for vampires?” louis ponders, remembering the talk he had with harry a while ago, about how vampires would stay immortal once they reach adulthood if they don’t take the antidote.

 

_“it’s the same as humans, 18.”_

 

“hmm, then i’d better stay around the same age, plus i wanna do it after i’m officially an adult.”

 

_“how ‘bout over the christmas holiday. you could come to my place, and it’ll be safer if we do it there. and you’d have your 18th birthday by then.”_

 

“that’s actually brilliant, haz. yeah, let’s do it then.”

 

 _“yeah, cool.”_ the Slytherin pauses, _“i’m getting on my bed now.”_

 

“oooh. naked?” louis teases.

 

 _“no, well yes. but it’s not what you think.”_ there’s a pout in harry’s tone, before a yawn takes over.

 

louis chuckles, “is my baby sleepy now?”

 

_“yes, quite actually. coz y’know, i spent a lot of time thinking earlier on.”_

 

“that’s okay, go to sleep, you dork."

 

_“but i wanna keep talking to you.”_

 

“you could talk to me tomorrow.” louis drops his voice down into a whisper. “it’s the middle of the night.”

 

 _“hmm yeah,”_ the other lad slurs into the phone.

 

“go to sleep, babe. sweet dreams.” louis says again, feeling his own eyelids growing heavy.

_“i love you.”_

 

“love you too.”

 

after a while of hearing no replies, louis hears some soft snores over the phone. he giggles to himself and presses the ‘end’ button. he turns around and muffles a yawn with the back of his hand, falling into a peaceful sleep, phone clutched tightly in grasp.

 

⊱•⊰

 

louis begins, as they sit on harry’s bed in his childhood room. “so, is there anything i absolutely, absolutely have to know before we do this?”

 

the green-eyed lad furrows his brows, “hum, not really. maybe your senses would suddenly become very sharp when you wake up, but it would probably be overtaken by other...stuffs. and...there’s really not much, maybe by the time you wake again would be in the morning, and it’s gonna be very bright. but i’m gonna close the blinds anyway.”

 

louis nods in acknowledgement, taking the notes down in his brain.

 

“how would i look, when i’m like — turning?”

 

“just like normal people sleeping, i guess. i’ve never witnessed the whole process of someone turning, but zain had, and he told me that.”

 

“alright.”

 

the taller boy continues, “you won’t feel pain, only like falling deep into a very peaceful sleep. i’d probably sleep with you, just so i won’t do anything silly over the long night.”

 

“yeah, that’s for the best.” louis comments, “so how are we gonna do this? are you just gonna bite me?”

 

“i have no idea,” harry admits, “kinda nervous too.”

 

louis shifts closer to harry.

 

“kiss me.”

 

harry doesn’t need to be told twice, he immediately lunges forward to close the gap between him and louis. louis lets out a loud sound of a mixture between a moan and sigh. he tips his upper body back, allowing harry to push him to the bed. harry is towering over their intertwined bodies, as he reconnects his saliva slicked lips back to nibbling along louis’ jawline. louis breathes out a heavy breath again. he tilts his head back against the pillow, closing his eyes.

 

harry breathes in sharply, as he makes his way down to the thin flesh on his boyfriend’s neck, as if he’s trying to capture all the scent that is there before they’re all gone. he opens his mouth to poke the skin with his teeth, grazing softly at it, also wetting the area with his tongue.

 

louis lets out a whimper when he comes to terms to what harry is trying to do. suddenly all blood in his body is boiling up, firing up to his skin. he tries to ignore the fact that his hands start to sweat at how fucking hot is this, and instead focuses on the strange but good sensation.

 

“j-just do it, harry.” louis gasps between broken whimpers.

 

harry grinds his hips down to louis’ and sticks his tongue out, letting it press flushed against the steadily increasing pulse on louis’ neck. his fangs are itching in his gums, but unlike in the past, this time he allows them to take over, slowly sliding out longer, poking out in front of his bottom lips. he swipes a tongue across them, to calm to itching, and looks up to the boy laying beneath him.

 

louis is still having his eyes closed. so harry drags his fangs across the junction where louis’ neck meets with his shoulders, testing the waters. expectantly, the latter’s breath hitches at the sharp sting, which in turn makes harry smiles in relief. it might be his hallucination, but louis’ neck feels, very, very hot.

 

harry opens the mouth wide, then bites down.

 

tearing the skin apart. louis visibly jerks under the sharp pain, but he stays still again immediately. he’s trusting harry with all of his heart. a groan rumbles off his throat.

 

burning hot blood flows steadily into harry’s mouth. he takes a gulp in a mouthful and swallows. he has never tasted something as strong, juicy, rich and just fan-fucking-tastic as louis’ blood. the overwhelming feeling overcomes his emotions as he tries to draw in as much blood as possible. he is not even holding back, as he feels the raw and wild side of his true nature overtaking his mind. he reminds himself, _this is for louis._

 

louis, well, louis feels as if all energy in his body is being sucked out, the out and open wound on his throat feels like nothing but a faint dull throb by now, almost non-existent. harry's mouth is on his neck, kissing him open mouthed, his fangs deep inside him, trading louis' blood with his love. louis thinks he's kind of like floating, not knowing where he is, but at the same time he knows it all. he could hear his own whimpers like it's very far away, he could also feel a faint poke of something hard at his crotch, but he doesn't pay much attention. he might be as well shaking and trembling very hard for all he knows, but he doesn't care.

 

everything feels like leaving him, free from his body, free from his mind, free from his grasp. he focuses his mind on one thing, and one thing only. _harry_.

 

at the same time, it's like a new energy is being poured into his body, filling him up. he feels like he's over at the rainbow, lying on a piece of cloud. actually he doesn't know, everything looks like a blob of blurry lines to him, and they don't matter. not anymore.

 

his lungs aren't working anymore, louis doesn't need them to.

 

harry hunches over. the blood getting into his system is getting fewer and fewer by every passing second. suddenly he is feelings everything, all at the same time. he feels like he could probably run 10 rounds in the forest non-stop. or scream, or laugh, or whatever. louis is so tasty, and he is ready to make the boy his. finally his.

 

he sits back up, admiring his artwork. the sweet sight of crimson liquid trickles its last few drops out of the tear. he catches all of them on his tongue before licking at his lips. louis’ head has rolled to a side and his face is pale, chest barely heaving. the vampire presses a kiss to his temple, blood and spit and fangs and all.

 

that’s when louis finally breathes out for the last time as utter darkness overcomes his vision.

 

 

 

there is indeed a blinding light when he wakes. for a moment he doesn’t know what is going on, then he feels as if all of his muscles in his body is contracting, then releasing, something foreign bursting out from his skin. there is a dull itch to his throat, almost like he has to, he just has to drink, a lot of water or whatever. he wants to feel something sweet in his system, like he has been waiting for this moment to come, for as long as his existence. there is also some sort of weight on his chest.

 

what has happened? _where is harry?_

 

fuck, _harry_. the name shoots to him like an arrow, and to the wound on his throat it feels like being torn up all over again. he gasps sharply.

 

then a very soft voice suddenly rings out from above him, and the sharp silhouette of a pair of very, very green eyes.

 

“lou? you awake?” a big hand is making its way into his hair, “how are you feeling?”

 

louis opens his mouth, but no sound comes out, and also his bottom lip is sort of bounded by something.

 

he looks up to a worried expression. he wants to tell him so badly he loves him, with all of his beating heart. he wants so much to reassure him that he is fine. he wants to tell him that they are okay, they have succeeded.

 

but all he could get out is, “h-hungry.”

 

the weight on his chest is suddenly being lifted off, and the figure shifts to kneeling next to him. louis turns his head to the side and sees harry, who is reaching a hand up to brush out the hair in his eyes, looking at him with the softest eyes he's ever seen.

 

louis' throat contracts.

 

harry clears his voice, and brings the arm to the rim of louis' lips. "c'mon, drink."

 

not having thought about anything clearly yet, louis' hands are moving up to grab the arm already. he pushes up the sleeve in a hurry, pressing his lips to the patch of milky white skin on harry's wrist. he glances up, meeting the lad's eyes, as if to ask for permission.

 

harry nods immediately, and bites at his lips, "go on, drink from me. you'll feel much better."

 

louis' head is feelings fuzzy, his throat stuffy. but then he opens his mouth and lets his newly found teeth sink down on the skin, breaking it.

 

harry hisses a bit at the pain, yet never moves away. louis closes his eyes, once again, and sucks.

 

the foreign liquid flows down into his throat. it's thick and a bit slimy, and it tastes different. a good different though, feels sweet to his throat. it's easing the itch in it, and calming down his anxious heart. and makes his head clearer, like he's breaking through a huge layer of water. the new rush of energy runs wildly, free in his veins.

 

he releases his hold on the arm and moves his fangs away.

 

"okay?" harry asks gently as he takes a tissue from the bedside table, pressing it to the wound.

 

"yeah, much better." louis breathes out, suddenly exhausted, "thank you."

 

"s'alright. what we did just now is called bonding. i drain all your blood, so i am your turner, and you have to drink back some of mine to complete the whole process." harry dips down to peck at louis's lips, sticking his tongue out to swipe swiftly across at the naked fangs, so as to tease. louis squirms a bit because strange as it is, they are sensitive.

 

"now you're mine, and i'll be yours." harry makes no move to stop, arching his back up to go down at louis' throat. the wound that he has torn off the night before has already healed, remaining two white dots aligned with the outline of the neck.

 

"when are the...fangs growing back?" louis asks when harry is breathing hot puffs of air down at the scar -  the bond mark.

 

"usually after 15 minutes, but maybe a bit longer for you because you're a newly-turned. be careful and don't bite yourself." the lad explains, then nibbles at the skin. louis gasps loudly at the sensation because he is suddenly so, so sensitive there and it feels so, so good.

 

"does it hurt?" harry smirks and mumbles into the skin.

 

"no..." louis slurs out, " _oh_." he groans when his boyfriend starts sucking.

 

"hmm, haz." louis gulps loudly, his adam's apple bobbing. harry turns his head to gets a better angle, sucking soundly at the small love bite forming. he uses his teeth to tenderly graze across the flesh, getting it all sloppy and wet.

 

just when louis' south side is getting interested, "let's not get you too excited, you're still weak." harry drops, and sits up, resting his palm on louis' abdomen.

 

louis huffs up at his boyfriend, but sighs because he's indeed getting a bit breathless. he tries to sit up. harry sees and immediately places a hand on the small of his back, supporting his body weight.

 

they get off the bed, and louis' stomach grumbles loudly.

 

"oh, getting hungry for another thing, i see." harry teases softly, slipping an arm into the loop of louis'. "c'mon, i'll make us something."

 

walking out of the room, they bump into a tall figure with white hair as they're passing the hallway.

 

"oh, good morning hazza." zain looks up from the phone in his hands and waves a greet.

 

however, one look at louis' face, his whole expression changes. it was surprise and shock at first, then it turns solemn, at last he turns to his brother with a glare.

 

"why didn't you tell me?" he accuses, frowning.

 

"um-uh," harry stutters, glancing at louis out of his peripheral view, "we were in a rush."

 

"that could've been risky, still." zain mildly scolds, shaking his head, "if you two are not careful enough it could have gone all wrong."

 

"but it went perfect right, didn't it? so it's okay now." louis speaks up, stepping closer to the boy beside him.

 

"i've been around you long enough to know these things like the back of my hand. we know what we're doing." harry quips.

 

zain gives him an exasperated look, then they're exchanging eye contacts via the air that is too fast for louis to catch. nevertheless, at last the white-haired man sighs, and turns back.

 

"you two are still idiots, lil shits. i'm glad it all works out." he simply states, to which harry's face break into a smug grin. he then leans in to study louis' face closer. "it was around last night, right?"

 

"yeah," harry replies when he realizes what zain is referring to.

 

"you two are not going to elope somewhere, right?" the man looks down at them again, almost like a parental figure.

 

"we seriously haven't really have it planned," harry and louis share a hesitant look, both caught in surprised at the sudden question, "but we'll at least finish school."

 

"good," zain concludes, turning to louis to give him a pat on the bicep, almost a bro pat, "louis, you're truly one remarkable Gryffindor, y'know what."

 

louis takes in a deep breath, his heartbeat picking up. zain gives him a meaningful hard look for a few seconds, that he can't quite comprehend.

 

"well then good luck, you both. now go and find that life the both of you deserve. and, if you ever had a wedding, please do remember to invite your big brother, yeah?" he winks at the slightly astonished boys.

 

⊱•⊰

 

"by the way, happy birthday, love."

 

"thank you, that's the best birthday i've ever had."

 

"no, thank you. you saved me in any way a vampire can be saved."

 

"did you just quote a movie?"

 

"shh, play along with it."

 

"..."

 

"..."

 

"oh hey, look at the sky."

 

"..."

 

"it's really pretty, haz, do you remember the day when we laid on the grass and you discreetly ask me to be your boyfriend? the stars were really beautiful that night."

 

"yeah, stars are really beautiful, but if you told me to go get one for you, i wouldn't do that, you know why?"

 

"no? because you'll fall?"

 

"no, it's because in my eyes, you're already the most beautiful star, and guess what? i'll fall anyways, i'm falling for you harder and harder by each passing second."

 

"..."

 

louis turns away from harry, trying to conceal the heavy blush in his cheeks. and as he looks up at the sky, he sees his past, he sees his present, he sees his future, he sees his infinity, with harry.

 

and he wonders, maybe it's all written in the stars, he doesn't have to count for nights to know.

 

maybe all was well, really.

 

⊱•⊰  
  


_vi._

_the tale has ended, my friend_

_the wise seer is right again_

_at last, prince harry and prince louis_

_live happily together ever after_

_as peace becomes their infinity_

_⊱•⊰_

 

**Author's Note:**

> MISCHIEF MANAGED.
> 
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> [Tumblr](www.unexposedcharlottelarrystylinson.tumblr.com)| Kik @larrysecretstylinson
> 
> rebloggable tumblr post [here](http://unexposedcharlottelarrystylinson.tumblr.com/post/130523347566/so-this-is-love-lourryalrightee)


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